With so much in the news these days about immigrants and United States immigration policy, I thought I’d share this new picture book with you, Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: a Migrant’s Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh. In this book, created for young children, folkloric art is combined with contemporary realities. While I usually use my own words to describe the books I thought that the author/illustrator’s words from his blog expressed them best. (https://duncantonatiuh.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/pancho-rabbit-and-the-coyote/).
“The book can be read on two levels. On the surface it is a story that reads like a fable, a bit like the Little Red Riding Hood or the Gingerbread Man. But the book is also an allegory of the terrible journey that undocumented immigrants go through in order to reach the U.S.”
“Immigration comes in and out of the news cycle. But when it is discussed, it is usually in abstract terms. Instead of focusing on the experience of actual people politicians discuss immigrants as a statistic in the economy. Or worse, when we hear of immigrants in the media, it is with negative and sensational tones. Undocumented immigrants are often equated with terrorists and drug traffickers, when in reality almost all immigrants are hard working people trying to provide for their families.”
“Immigration comes in and out of the news cycle. But when it is discussed, it is usually in abstract terms. Instead of focusing on the experience of actual people politicians discuss immigrants as a statistic in the economy. Or worse, when we hear of immigrants in the media, it is with negative and sensational tones. Undocumented immigrants are often equated with terrorists and drug traffickers, when in reality almost all immigrants are hard working people trying to provide for their families.”
“Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote has been well received by teachers, librarians, professors and parents. Some people have called the book liberal propaganda though. My book does not advocate for open borders or for a giant border fence protected by drones. Instead, it tries to focus on the terrible journey that migrants go through and the separation that families experience. Some people have said that Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote is inappropriate for children. I disagree. I have read the book to children in schools and libraries in different parts of the U.S. Young kids enjoy the story the way they would enjoy a classic fable or a folk tale. Older kids are able to understand and discuss the second layer of meaning in the book.”
This book is worth reading!
This book is worth reading!
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