A Handful of Seeds - Hardcover

Grade 1-3?Concepcion, a young Hispanic girl, is forced by her grandmother's death to move to the barrio. There she meets a group of orphans who offer to teach her how to survive in the city by picking through garbage and stealing from merchants. Instead, she plants her corn, beans, and chilies in the hard ground to grow food the way she learned from her grandmother. One day the garden is trampled by the other children as they are being chased and beaten by the police. With the seeds that are left, they help Concepcion replant the garden, and plan to sell their surplus vegetables in the city. They have a feast and meet another gang of hungry orphans, and Concepcion gives them some of her food, seeds, and knowledge. Hughes's well-written narrative does not hide the ugliness of life in the barrio. However, the easy resolution of Concepcion's problems makes the story seem like a fairy tale. Nonetheless, it is a good vehicle for introducing a difficult subject, and Garay's expressive, textured illustrations, done in rich earth tones, give it depth and feeling.?Maria Redburn, Irving Public Library, TX
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