Friends From the Other Side by Gloria Anzaldua

This book is about a young girl named Prietita who makes friends with a young boy named Joaquin. Joaquin is from the other side, meaning Mexico. He snuck over the border with his mom to find work. Prietita protects Joaquin from the mean kids and hides his family when the Border Control come looking for illegal immigrants.

This is considered a controversial book for a couple reasons. One is the topic of illegal immigration. Although kids may not understand the topic or even care, parents can get very heated about the topic and may not like their kids reading such a book. Also, the book uses the term "wetback" when the mean kids are talking about Joaquin. Another reason may be that there seems to be animosity between the whites and the Hispanics. At one point in the book, the Border Control asks if anyone knows where illegal immigrants may be living and one character points to a community where the whites live, making a joke.

One thing I do like about this book is that it is written in both English and Spanish which can be very helpful for ELL students. I wasn't too impressed with the illustrations. I felt the illustrator could have done a better job drawing the people. Their faces are not proportioned right and to be honest, they look kind of scary. Because this book is a little longer than most picture books and the topic is more deep, I would recommend it for kids ages 6-10.