¡Sí, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A. -- Diana Cohn, Paperback

Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor Book, Jane Addams Peace Association
Skipping Stones Honor Award, Skipping Stones Magazine

When the janitors' union strikes for better wages, Carlitos discovers a way to help his mother in this powerful bilingual picture book.

Cuando el sindicato de conserjes organiza una huelga para exigir mejores salarios, Carlitos descubre una manera en que le puede ayudar a su madre en este poderoso libro ilustrado bilingüe.

Carlitos's mother is a janitor. Every night, he sleeps while his mother cleans one of the skyscrapers in downtown L.A. When she comes home, she waves Carlitos off to school before she goes to sleep. One night, his mamá explains that she can't make enough money to support him and his abuelita the way they need unless she makes more money as a janitor. She and the other janitors have decided to go on strike. Will he support her and help her all he can?

Of course, Carlitos wants to help but he cannot think of a way until his teacher, Miss Lopez, explains in class how her own grandfather had fought for better wages for farmworkers when he first came to the United States. Finally, Carlitos knows how he can show his mamá how proud he is of her. He and the other children in his class make posters and Carlitos joins the marchers with a very special sign for his mom!

Backmatter includes an interview by Luis J. Rodriguez (Always Running), discussing the real "Justice for Janitors" strike in 2000 with a union organizer who participated, as well as a poem inspired by it.

La mamá de Carlitos es conserje. Cada noche mientras él duerme su mamá limpia un edificio en el centro de L.A. Una noche su mamá le explica que al menos que gane más como conserje, no va tener el dinero suficiente para mantenerlo a él y a su abuelita como ella quisiera. Ella y los otros conserjes han decidido entrar en huelga. Acaso él la apoyará y ayudará en todo lo que pueda? Claro, Carlitos quiere ayudar, pero no sabe cómo hasta que ve a su mamá en la televisión dando un discurso en favor de la huelga. Al final, Carlitos encuentra la manera de enseñarle a su mamá lo orgulloso que esta de ella. Él y su compañeros de clase hacen carteles y Carlitos se une a la marcha con un cartel muy especial para su mamá!

Sí, se puede! incluye un ensayo escrito por el aclamado autor Luis J. Rodríguez sobre Dolores Sánchez, una de las mujeres involucradas en la verdadera Huelga de Conserjes de L.A. El libro también incluye un poema de Rodríguez e información sobre sindicatos.

Author: Diana Cohn
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Published: 01/01/2009
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 8.20h x 10.80w x 0.20d
ISBN: 9780938317890
Language: Spanish
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 83028 / Yes, We Can: Janitor Strike in L.A.


Review Citation(s):
Ingram Children's Advance 01/01/2005 pg. 56

About the Author

Diana Cohn has worked on environmental, economic, and global justice issues as a teacher, a media activist, and an advisor, program officer, and executive director in philanthropic institutions. She is the award-winning author of seven children's books, including ¡Si Se Puede! / Yes We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A., The Bee Tree, and Crane Boy, all published by Cinco Puntos Press/Lee & Low. She lives with her husband on a houseboat in northern California.

Francisco Delgado, a fronterizo artist, was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico in 1974. Throughout his life he has resided in both twin cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez. Delgado's artworks reflect the United States and Mexican Border life and speak to the working class of the barrios. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso and received his MFA from the Yale School of Art. His paintings have appeared on book covers, in national art exhibits, and in private collections and community institutions. His picture books include ¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes We Can!; Juanito Counts to Ten; and Birdie's Beauty Parlor. Francisco and his wife Barbara have three children. Find him on the web at franciscodelgado.weebly.com.

Luis J. Rodriguez, ​the son of Mexican immigrants, is an acclaimed poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist. He's the author of fifteen books, including It Doesn't Have to Be This Way / No tiene que ser así A Barrio Story with Children's Book Press/Lee & Low.