Ecos del desierto. (Echoes From the Dessert)

Reviewed by Veronica Covington, Univ. of Texas, Austin -- Críticas, 8/15/2007

Gr 3-4–This inspiring page-turner tells the story of a 16-year-old boy from Cuicatlán, Mexico, who dreams of (and achieves) a better life for himself and his family. Miguel, a budding musician, decides to join his aunts and uncles in Phoenix, AZ, and departs taking with him a biography of Mozart and a childhood clay flute. With the help of a “Coyote,” he illegally crosses the border. Water runs out, thorns pierce his feet, and immigration officials nearly seize the group. It is all worth it in the end. After working for a year in Phoenix, Miguel heads to Los Angeles determined to earn a living as a street musician. While playing the flute with a band in Venice, the protagonist befriends an admirer and mentor—a music teacher who helps him get accepted into a prestigious music school. But things don’t go as planned: just before he is to leave for Julliard, his little sister, Carmelita, dies and he has to return to Mexico. His parents beg him to stay, but Miguel insists that he can help them better if he completes his education. Almanza’s black-and-white drawings capture the changing moods in Miguel’s journey, and the cadence of the text echoes the music of a flute. Recommended for public and elementary libraries.