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Calling the Doves / El canto de las palomas

By Juan Felipe Herrera
Illustrated by Elly Simmons

Paperback: $10.95

Six Pack: $65.70

Calling the Doves is poet Juan Felipe Herrera's story of his migrant farmworker childhood. In delightful and lyrical language, he recreates the joy of eating breakfast under the open sky, listening to Mexican songs in the little trailer house his father built, and celebrating with other families at a fiesta in the mountains. He remembers his mother’s songs and poetry, and his father's stories and his calling the doves. For Juan Felipe, the farmworker road was also the beginning of his personal road to becoming a writer.

Read about how to use picture books to teach and discuss Poet Laureate of the United States Juan Felipe Herrera.

Check out the American Immigration Council's post, "Juan Felipe Herrera Offers Insight and Inspiration into the Migrant Farmworker Experience for Youth," for more ideas.

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About the Creators

Thumb_juan_felipe_herrera Juan Felipe Herrera - Author

JUAN FELIPE HERRERA is the son of farmworkers and a graduate of UCLA, Stanford, and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. During the last fifty years, he has dedicated his life to poetry, community, art and teaching. He has served as the Poetry Laureate of the United States and of California and he’s written more than thirty books across various genres. His awards include the National Book Critics’ Circle Award, the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the LA Times Robert Kirsch Award, a Latino Hall of Fame Award, a Pushcart Prize, UCLA Chancellor’s Medal and the UC-Riverside Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Fresno with his wife, poet Margarita Robles.

Thumb_thumb Elly Simmons

is an internationally-exhibited painter. Her first picture book for Children's Book Press, Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes by Manlio Argueto, was highly praised for its rich colors and magnificent imagery. She lives with her family in Lagunitas, California.

About This Title

ISBN

Paperback: 9780892391660

Six Pack: 9780892392537

Guided Reading:

R

Spanish Guided Reading:

R

Lexile:

AD910L

Interest Level:

Grades 2 - 5

Reading Level:

Grades 4 - 5

Themes

Vehicles In Motion, Occupations, Mothers, Latino/Hispanic/Mexican Interest, Immigration, Home, History, Fathers, Farming, Families, Environment/Nature, Dreams & Aspirations, Childhood Experiences and Memories, Bilingual, Poverty, People In Motion, Biography/Memoir, California, Courage, Identity/Self Esteem/Confidence, Nonfiction, Pride

Part of These Collections

Fluent Bilingual, Juan Felipe Herrera Collection, Bilingual Bestsellers, Immigration Collection, Authentic Spanish List,