by Joseph Krumgold, published 1953
“San Ysidro is the patron saint of our village of Los Cordovas…He keeps an eye out special for Los Cordovas…For as long as I can remember, there have been no complaints about how San Ysidro has handled things for our village.”
Miguel is twelve years old, a middle child in a large family of shepherds who have lived on the New Mexico lands for hundreds of years. Somehow he has a way of muddling everything he tries to communicate, and his frustration is palpable. Yet in the end, the perseverance of this little mixed-up boy brings him into the world he longs to join, that of the grown-ups who take the sheep up to the mountain top every year.
The character in this children’s book has very little outward similarity to a contemporary youngster, unless that young child is also growing up in very rural, remote lands, following the trades of his lineage. And yet, I think this is a worthy book, because it so tenderly shows the struggles of a 12-year-old not yet accepted as an adult, and too big to be a child any more. The feeling of wanting to belong is universal. This children’s book certainly would do well in a classroom as a study of rural agricultural life. It would be especially terrific in a homeschool or classroom in New Mexico. The book provides useful food for thought, good topics for discussion, and reads like historical fiction, with a remote time and place.
This children’s book is well-written, and moves slowly, reminiscent of the Onion John, another children’s book by Krumgold that was reviewed on this website. Much of the action is the internal dialogue that a young person goes through, as he navigates the tricky waters of coming of age. For thoughtful young people, and particularly boys, this is a worthy choice. Newbery Medal 1959.