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After Peaches
Ten-year-old Rosario Ramirez and her family are political refugees from Mexico, trying to make a new life in Canada. After being teased at school, Rosario vows not to speak English again until she can speak with an accent that's one hundred percent Canadian. Since she and her parents plan to spend the whole summer working on BC fruit farms, she will be surrounded by Spanish speakers again. But when her family's closest friend Jose gets terribly sick, Rosario's plans start to unravel. Neither Jose nor Rosario's parents speak English well enough to get him the help he needs. Like it or not, Rosario must face her fears about letting her voice be heard.
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
6 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Mulder
34 books24 followersMichelle Mulder is a Canadian children's author. She loves writing about kids who seize life's opportunities, and she tries to do the same in her own life. Some of her favourite adventures have included helping to dig a water pipeline in the Dominican Republic, backpacking through Argentina with her husband, and riding a hot air balloon through a Cappadocian valley in Turkey. She lives with her husband in Victoria, BC.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 5, 2012
- Setting: Well… the setting of the book took in many places so I will tell which places things mostly happened but it would be more than one places. The setting of the story is mostly in Canada, Victoria and the places were in the tulip farm, in Julie’s house, strawberry farm cherry farm.
-Main Character: Rosario Ramirez is 10 years old and she came from Mexico City. She likes to make stuffs by her own and she wants to speak English more like Canadian kids during the summer vacation so people will not stop thinking that she does not speak English very well and Robbie will be surprised by how she speaks well. And yes, she learns something as the stories moves on because when the story ends, she no more worries about how she doesn’t speak English well like Canadians and even if Robbie makes fun of her she would just think about what happened to Jose at the cherry farm and also she gets the courage of speaking to people because of how she spoke to the doctor and nurse. I would like to be friends with Rosario because she is kind to people but I will not like the part that she doesn’t want to speak English to peoples.
-Other Characters: Robbie Zec, Julie, Ms. Bower (teacher), Ms. Norton (Julie’s mom), Ricardo (Rosario’s brother), Claudio, Abuela, Jose, Anal (Jose daughter), Marcos, the owner of the cherry farm.
-Which characters did you like/dislike? : I didn’t like the owner of the cherry farm because he was mean to people and lied a lot. So I think that the owner was so mean and wrong to not give proper mask and glove to spray on trees. And the characters that I liked were Julie and Ms. Norton because they helped Rosario and Rosario’s parents a lot.
-What happened at the beginning of the story? In the beginning of the story, Robbie was making fun of Rosario because she didn’t speak English very well since she came from Mexico. But her best friend Julie said to just ignore them and went to Julie’s house. When they went to Julie’s house Ms. Norton who is Julie’s mother gave cookies to them to eat and when they went to Julie’s room, Julie told Rosario about how the summer will be exciting for the two of them because she has a wonderful plan. Her plan was to write each a book about what happened during the summer and put pictures etc… and them exchange and read each other ones. But Rosario didn’t feel good about it because she got a notebook from Julie to write a story and her parents don’t like charity and also, she thinks that she has nothing to write unlike Julie, who will be having fun while Rosario was farming and helping her parents. Rosario just accepted because she doesn’t want her friend to feel bad and she knows that Julie knows that she liked making things on her own and that’s why Julie was saying about this. When the vacation was starting, on Saturday, Julie and Ms. Norton came to the farm that Julie and her parents worked to show how they grow tulips and take them to make a bouquet or etc… and also introduced Jose, who Rosario really talked about to Julie. Then when Rosario came back to her house which she was living in a basement, she saw a message saying that the owner will make the price of the rent more expensive and Rosario’s parents didn’t have that much. So they needed to move and Julie and Rosario were sad. That’s when Rosario got a great idea.
- What happens at the middle of the story? : The idea was that since they had to move away, and since Jose must go to another farm, Julie said maybe they could go to a vacation looking around the provinces and they just needed to work on farms for money and could put their stuffs in Julie’s basement since they didn’t have anything much and could also borrow Julie’s tent that she doesn’t use to sleep at night. After hearing this, Rosario’s parents seemed convinced and went to the trip. They first went to a strawberry farm in which Rosario really wanted to go and farmed for a week. Then when Rosario’s father found the letter that Jose daughter Anal wrote to Rosaria, he gave it to Rosaria. When she read it, she saw that the farm where her father was working was not a very good farm and heard that they don’t treat people well there. And she also said to keep this secret. And fortunately the rain was pouring and pouring so they had to go to the east where there was the farm where Jose was working and they finally arrived to the cherry farm that Jose works.
-What happened at the end of the story? : At the cherry farm, Jose was spraying on trees to keep the insects away but when he got back he looked really sick and went to the hospital even when the owner said he will fire Jose and even when Jose said that he must stay here to earn money to give to his family in Mexico for them to eat. At the hospital, Rosario translated for her parents and Jose since they could only speak Spanish but not English. And when they got back from the hospital the owner had already booked tickets for Jose and said to go back to Mexico immediately. Jose went and when Rosario and her parents came back to Victoria, they had enough money to buy an apartment and letters came to Jose and his daughter Anal and they emailed each other. Also, Rosario felt no shame of how her English was and now she had plenty to write in her story book.
-What was the problem in the story and how was it solved? : The problem was that Rosario and her parents had to find a place to live since the owner of the place that they were living was making the price of rent higher but it got solved when Rosario and her parents was going on a trip and working on farm, and when they came back they had money to buy an apartment.
-What did you learn from this story? : I learned that farming is important to some people and you must obey the laws. And also you must not make fun of a friend, be nice to your friends, and help your parents if they need you to translate something.
-Theme/Main Idea: I think the main idea is that you must obey the laws and if you work hard you can get what you want.
-Do you like this story? : Yes I like the story because is nice how the story goes and how the problem is solved but I don’t like the part that they speak Spanish because I don’t understand and some parts they write the name of the people differently (Jose name).
-Main Character: Rosario Ramirez is 10 years old and she came from Mexico City. She likes to make stuffs by her own and she wants to speak English more like Canadian kids during the summer vacation so people will not stop thinking that she does not speak English very well and Robbie will be surprised by how she speaks well. And yes, she learns something as the stories moves on because when the story ends, she no more worries about how she doesn’t speak English well like Canadians and even if Robbie makes fun of her she would just think about what happened to Jose at the cherry farm and also she gets the courage of speaking to people because of how she spoke to the doctor and nurse. I would like to be friends with Rosario because she is kind to people but I will not like the part that she doesn’t want to speak English to peoples.
-Other Characters: Robbie Zec, Julie, Ms. Bower (teacher), Ms. Norton (Julie’s mom), Ricardo (Rosario’s brother), Claudio, Abuela, Jose, Anal (Jose daughter), Marcos, the owner of the cherry farm.
-Which characters did you like/dislike? : I didn’t like the owner of the cherry farm because he was mean to people and lied a lot. So I think that the owner was so mean and wrong to not give proper mask and glove to spray on trees. And the characters that I liked were Julie and Ms. Norton because they helped Rosario and Rosario’s parents a lot.
-What happened at the beginning of the story? In the beginning of the story, Robbie was making fun of Rosario because she didn’t speak English very well since she came from Mexico. But her best friend Julie said to just ignore them and went to Julie’s house. When they went to Julie’s house Ms. Norton who is Julie’s mother gave cookies to them to eat and when they went to Julie’s room, Julie told Rosario about how the summer will be exciting for the two of them because she has a wonderful plan. Her plan was to write each a book about what happened during the summer and put pictures etc… and them exchange and read each other ones. But Rosario didn’t feel good about it because she got a notebook from Julie to write a story and her parents don’t like charity and also, she thinks that she has nothing to write unlike Julie, who will be having fun while Rosario was farming and helping her parents. Rosario just accepted because she doesn’t want her friend to feel bad and she knows that Julie knows that she liked making things on her own and that’s why Julie was saying about this. When the vacation was starting, on Saturday, Julie and Ms. Norton came to the farm that Julie and her parents worked to show how they grow tulips and take them to make a bouquet or etc… and also introduced Jose, who Rosario really talked about to Julie. Then when Rosario came back to her house which she was living in a basement, she saw a message saying that the owner will make the price of the rent more expensive and Rosario’s parents didn’t have that much. So they needed to move and Julie and Rosario were sad. That’s when Rosario got a great idea.
- What happens at the middle of the story? : The idea was that since they had to move away, and since Jose must go to another farm, Julie said maybe they could go to a vacation looking around the provinces and they just needed to work on farms for money and could put their stuffs in Julie’s basement since they didn’t have anything much and could also borrow Julie’s tent that she doesn’t use to sleep at night. After hearing this, Rosario’s parents seemed convinced and went to the trip. They first went to a strawberry farm in which Rosario really wanted to go and farmed for a week. Then when Rosario’s father found the letter that Jose daughter Anal wrote to Rosaria, he gave it to Rosaria. When she read it, she saw that the farm where her father was working was not a very good farm and heard that they don’t treat people well there. And she also said to keep this secret. And fortunately the rain was pouring and pouring so they had to go to the east where there was the farm where Jose was working and they finally arrived to the cherry farm that Jose works.
-What happened at the end of the story? : At the cherry farm, Jose was spraying on trees to keep the insects away but when he got back he looked really sick and went to the hospital even when the owner said he will fire Jose and even when Jose said that he must stay here to earn money to give to his family in Mexico for them to eat. At the hospital, Rosario translated for her parents and Jose since they could only speak Spanish but not English. And when they got back from the hospital the owner had already booked tickets for Jose and said to go back to Mexico immediately. Jose went and when Rosario and her parents came back to Victoria, they had enough money to buy an apartment and letters came to Jose and his daughter Anal and they emailed each other. Also, Rosario felt no shame of how her English was and now she had plenty to write in her story book.
-What was the problem in the story and how was it solved? : The problem was that Rosario and her parents had to find a place to live since the owner of the place that they were living was making the price of rent higher but it got solved when Rosario and her parents was going on a trip and working on farm, and when they came back they had money to buy an apartment.
-What did you learn from this story? : I learned that farming is important to some people and you must obey the laws. And also you must not make fun of a friend, be nice to your friends, and help your parents if they need you to translate something.
-Theme/Main Idea: I think the main idea is that you must obey the laws and if you work hard you can get what you want.
-Do you like this story? : Yes I like the story because is nice how the story goes and how the problem is solved but I don’t like the part that they speak Spanish because I don’t understand and some parts they write the name of the people differently (Jose name).
October 10, 2023
Really impressed with this from so many angles—the sensitive portrayal of a young ELL struggling with an experience I think we don't necessarily talk about as much in the Canadian school system. While this book is a few years old now, the (sometimes incredibly/offensively poor) treatment of migrant workers and foreign farm labourers is once again in the news.
The young main character's relationship with her family is heartwarming and their experience perhaps a little too idyllic, but the narrative takes a darker turn when she finds herself called upon to use her developing language skills to translate and advocate for a sick Spanish-speaking farm worker being abused by the owner of the orchard where he's working.
Would be great to see this get a fresh push or reissue to connect with more classrooms/libraries, given current events.
The young main character's relationship with her family is heartwarming and their experience perhaps a little too idyllic, but the narrative takes a darker turn when she finds herself called upon to use her developing language skills to translate and advocate for a sick Spanish-speaking farm worker being abused by the owner of the orchard where he's working.
Would be great to see this get a fresh push or reissue to connect with more classrooms/libraries, given current events.
December 21, 2017
Pretty good. A simply written story at a great level and length for a newer-to-chapter-books reader. I hate the cover art which I doubt it likely to appeal to many kids but the story of immigrant fruit pickers is one that I have never run across (in adult or children’s literature) and I think it could open some important discussion in schools. This book was selected for the Reading Link challenge in my library system (and my school) so I read it to support my students, but I think this is a valuable topic and will be encouraging my grade four daughter to read this as well.
November 3, 2022
This book has a very similar story to the in the book Esperanza Rising. It is the story of a young Mexican immigrant farm worker and it is short and sweet. This story specifically revolves around her fear of not being a “good enough” English speaker and ends with a very sweet lesson. I read this for a children’s literature class for an assignment that focused on the Diverse Book Movement. I would say this book fits 100% into that category and even as a college student. I would highly recommend this for young kids and adults.
November 15, 2020
It was a really good book
July 12, 2017
An amazing children's fiction about a young refugee girl and her family in Canada. This short book provides great insight into the life and daily struggles of those new to a strange country. With shocking revelations into the hardships of the day worker, this book is a must for all ages.
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February 7, 2012Reviewed by Sandra O’Brien
After the death of her brother, Rosario Ramirez and her parents move to Canada from Mexico as political refugees. Trying to build a new life for themselves, her parents have little time to learn English as they work long hours on the farms in British Columbia. Rosario, however, is doing extremely well at school but, due to teasing, vows not to speak English with anyone but her friend Julie until she can speak with an accent that’s one hundred percent Canadian.
When Rosario and her parents receive the distressing news that they must find a new place to live, she comes up with a plan to travel across British Columbia picking berries for the summer. They borrow a tent from Julie’s mom and set out to explore. Rosario is forced to use her English when their friend José becomes extremely ill after spraying cherry trees. After successfully translating for José and her parents at the hospital, Rosario becomes much more confident in her English speaking abilities.
Michelle Mulder’s novel for young readers is an inspirational read for any child who is learning a second language. Many children (and adults) are reluctant to use their new language until they can do it perfectly but, as Rosario discovers, you need not be perfect to be understood. Mulder has kept the chapters short but provided the children with some challenging vocabulary and a story line that will keep their interest. The glossary provides students with the opportunity to learn some Spanish vocabulary.
Canadian Children's Book News (Winter 2010, Vol. 33, No. 1)
After the death of her brother, Rosario Ramirez and her parents move to Canada from Mexico as political refugees. Trying to build a new life for themselves, her parents have little time to learn English as they work long hours on the farms in British Columbia. Rosario, however, is doing extremely well at school but, due to teasing, vows not to speak English with anyone but her friend Julie until she can speak with an accent that’s one hundred percent Canadian.
When Rosario and her parents receive the distressing news that they must find a new place to live, she comes up with a plan to travel across British Columbia picking berries for the summer. They borrow a tent from Julie’s mom and set out to explore. Rosario is forced to use her English when their friend José becomes extremely ill after spraying cherry trees. After successfully translating for José and her parents at the hospital, Rosario becomes much more confident in her English speaking abilities.
Michelle Mulder’s novel for young readers is an inspirational read for any child who is learning a second language. Many children (and adults) are reluctant to use their new language until they can do it perfectly but, as Rosario discovers, you need not be perfect to be understood. Mulder has kept the chapters short but provided the children with some challenging vocabulary and a story line that will keep their interest. The glossary provides students with the opportunity to learn some Spanish vocabulary.
Canadian Children's Book News (Winter 2010, Vol. 33, No. 1)
December 10, 2024
My daughter is in a group reading challenge at school in conjunction with the local library here, and this is one of the books to be read. I decided to read all the books as well, as I thought it would be fun - a small book club of sorts.
This was an easy read and I enjoyed it. I read this in about a day. I liked that it is written by a local-ish author in a BC setting. The subject matter is an important one. My daughter hasn't read this yet, and I am pretty sure she doesn't know anything about migrant workers in BC, so I am looking forward to the discussion after.
This was an easy read and I enjoyed it. I read this in about a day. I liked that it is written by a local-ish author in a BC setting. The subject matter is an important one. My daughter hasn't read this yet, and I am pretty sure she doesn't know anything about migrant workers in BC, so I am looking forward to the discussion after.
August 24, 2010
This is a story about a young girl and her family who are migrant workers in Canada.
February 3, 2012
Great spring read!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews