Carmella Full of Wishes

This story, written by Mark de la Peña who also wrote Last Stop on Market Street, tells the story of Carmela, a young immigrant girl. The story begins with Carmela's birthday, her mother tells her to blow out her candles and make a wish, but her wish of joining her brother in town is already coming true because of her age. As she joins her brother that day in town, she finds a dandelion. Her brother explains that she must make a wish before she blows on it. As readers, we are then taken on a journey through all of the wishes Carmela has. She starts out by wishing for a machine that will give her anything she wants, mostly candy. She then moves on to think about her family and wishes her mom could stay in the hotel that she works at as a housekeeper. She then wishes that her dad could get his papers sorted and come home. Here, the readers can see some of the harsh realities immigrant families have to face. Carmela becomes upset because she drops her dandelion and thinks she’s lost her wish, but her brother brings her to a field full of dandelion spores and lets her make her wish.

Carmela Full of Wishes in the Classroom

This story about appreciating the little things in life and being imaginative in tough situations could definitely be relatable to some CLD learners, especially those from immigrant families. This story also gives a good example of conditions immigrant families must live through, such as living in labor communities and missing a family member in the household due to immigration problems

This book is intended for kindergarten to second-grade readers. The illustrations that accompany this story allow for emergent readers to follow along with the story as well.

At the beginning of the story, Carmela’s mom calls Carmela “Mija” which may need to be translated for some readers prior to reading. An explanation of what an immigrant is may also be helpful before reading this story.

Additional Resources

Population Education - Teaching Immigration to Elementary Students

https://populationeducation.org/5-tips-for-teaching-immigration-to-elementary-students/