Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna
by Alda P. Dobbs
Informational Resources:
Author Information:
Alda P. Dobbs Website:
Author Interview (2:27):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=MJOqPPnmP5k
Activities & Resources:
Activities:
Discussion Guide (Sourcebooks):
Teaching Books:
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=75918
Spanish to English
Make a Spanish to English Dictionary for Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna.:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RaD9kl9i1hZHtei6ORWHINZq3p14zQnk/view?usp=sharing
The Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution Review (1:39):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=PBTKlcKiAS4
Mexican Revolution facts for kids:
https://kids.kiddle.co/Mexican_Revolution
In the kitchen
Make Petra’s mother’s favorite beverage–champurrada (3:29):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=7kAIE9306A0
Make your own pan pobre:
https://feedingourflamingos.com/poor-mans-bread/
El desierto eats: Quelites (1:44):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=1vn2g1Y3IZA
El desierto eats: Nopales (1:21):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=Gs7lWGUcDMA
Mexican Art
Color an Aztec Sun:
https://www.bestcoloringpagesforkids.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Aztec-Sun-Coloring-Page.jpg
Art attack-Aztec Art (4:00):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=P5Abb6trcn8
Music
Listen to Abuelita’s favorite waltz, “Alejandra” (2:42):
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=vUr1kz2hZdE
MakerSpace Activities:
Make a promises book:
Using Google Slides or construction paper and crayons, brainstorm promises you would like to keep to yourself or others. Once your promises are fulfilled, check it off in your book.
Create a Lego map that shows Northern Mexico to the bridge to the United States that Petra and her family journeyed to their freedom:
https://developer.here.com/blog/build-your-own-map-with-lego
Create a timeline using the events highlighted at the end of the story:
https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline
Create trading cards for people to know in the Mexican Revolution: Presidente Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, General Franciscow “Pancho Villa”, etc.:
http://interactives.readwritethink.org/trading-card-creator
Build a bridge:
http://jdaniel4smom.com/2016/08/stem-activity-build-bridge-everyday-items.html
Discussion Questions:
What does “Our enemy lived among us” (page 5) mean? In your opinion, is this better or worse than an enemy from a faraway land? Explain.
In La Promesa, Petra remembers promises that she and her father had made. Why are promises so important to Petra? To Amelia? To everyone?
What is a revolution? What causes/inspires the two sides to fight in a revolution?
“My home, my life, everything I knew was gone. There was nothing to come back to.” (page 36) How is Petra feeling at this time?
What “thorns” can a person have? (page 47) What thorns does Petra have? Amelia?
Papa explained, “When a piece of coal gets squeezed very hard for a very long time it becomes a diamond…It’s the same with people. When life’s big problems squeeze you hard, you grow stronger. You grow up to shine like a diamond.” (page 65)
In what ways has Petra grown stronger?
Abuela calls Petra’s and Amelia’s dreams barefoot dreams. What does this mean to you? Why does Abuela say big dreams are dangerous?
Why did Petra turn down Adeline’s offer of escaping with her family? What made her choose a scarier, more uncertain escape with Abuelita, Amelia, and Luisito?
“The revolution…would strike Mexico like an angry tiger that had just been unleashed…” What does this mean for Mexico? Mexicans?
Why does Abuelita finally agree that they should head to America?
What does la soldada, Marietta Torres, symbolize to Petra?
What brings Petra hope of a better tomorrow?
When asked, Petra lists all the things she wants. Above all else she wants what? Why?
La tormenta is the storm going on outside, but what is la tormenta that rages through Petra?
Why do you think they describe the United States of America as having streets of gold and diamonds?
Why did the old man play the song “Alejandra” when the last of the rebels left?
Why were people dancing and others crying?
What new promise does Petra make? What does this promise mean as far as her outlook on their current situation?
Why would Huitzilopochtli send a hummingbird right before the federales arrive at Piedras Negras?
Why does the author title the next to last chapter El adiós/The goodbye?
What did the star symbolize three years ago? What do the stars symbolize now?
Book Talk Teasers:
Read the Reader’s Theater for Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna.
Watch the book trailer and author/illustrator interviews embedded at the bottom of the page.
Read Alikes:
Emigration
Diaz, Alexandra. Santiago’s road home. Fleeing abusive relatives and extreme poverty in Mexico, young Santiago endures being detained by ICE while crossing the border in the United States. (NoveList Plus)
Gratz, Alan. Refugee. Separated by decades, Josef, a Jew living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a girl trying to escape unrest in 1994 Cuba; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart by violence, embark on journeys in search of refuge. (NoveList Plus)
Lai, Thanha. Inside out and back again. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama. (NoveList Plus)
Nagai, Mariko. Under the broken sky. When Soviet troops invade Japanese-occupied Manchuria during the last days of World War II, twelve-year-old Natsu Kimura must care for her younger sister as they struggle to survive and return to Japan. (NoveList Plus)
Trebincevic, Kenan. World in between: based on a true refugee story. Based on a true refugee story, this moving novel follows Kenan and his family as they make it out of war-torn Bosnia alive, which is only the beginning of their journey. (NoveList Plus)
Reviews:
Dobbs, Alda P. Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna. Sourcebooks Young Reader, 2021
Booklist
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna.
By Alda P. Dobbs.
Sept. 2021. 288p. Sourcebooks/Young Readers, $17.99 (9781728234656). Grades 4-6. REVIEW. First published May 15, 2021 (Booklist).
Each day in the village of Esperanzas—in 1913, during the Mexican Revolution—12-year-old Petra chops wood to sell. After Mama passed away and Papa was taken, forced to become a soldier for the Federales in the revolution, Petra has worked hard to keep her family safe, as she promised she would. But when Federales descend on them, her siblings and their abuela barely escape with their lives, and Petra is forced to leave behind the home she has always known, clinging to the hope that one day Papa will find them. Journeying on foot, Petra and her family come across others who are fleeing to America for safety. Along the way, Petra endures incredible hardships but also forges new friendships, comes to terms with her grief and loss, and discovers her own strength and capability to make her dreams of learning to write come true. Dobbs’ wrenching debut, about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on, illuminates the harsh realities of war, the heartbreaking disparities between the poor and the rich, and the racism faced by Petra and her family. Readers will love Petra, who is as strong as the black-coal rock she carries with her and as beautiful as the diamond hidden within it. —Selenia Paz
Used with the permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/
School Library Journal starred (September 1, 2021)
Gr 5 Up-Set during the Mexican Revolution, mostly during 1913, this book follows Petra and her grandmother, her sister, and her baby brother as they flee the Federales after the burning of their village. Loosely based on the stories from the author's own family, the novel weaves traditional Mestizo tales and desert knowledge, historical events, and original storytelling. The book is compelling, with well-paced action that flows and keeps readers engaged. The lyrical writing perfectly evokes the loneliness of the desert, the companionship of fellow refugees, and the bravery of Petra. Throughout the journey, Petra struggles to recognize that she is a leader in her family and must choose new paths even while respecting and balancing the place of her grandmother's traditional knowledge. The conclusion is thrilling, though cheapened slightly as Petra pedantically explains what she has learned. End materials include an author's note on Dobbs's own family's experiences and her research methods, as well as a time line of historical events. VERDICT This beautifully written and exciting story of a family fleeing during the Mexican revolution offers a new perspective in historical fiction. An excellent addition to all collections.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage P.L., AK © Copyright 2021. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2021
Book Trailer
Author Interview
Barefoot Dreams - Alda Dobbs - Interview.mp4