AUTHOR: Claudia Yelín
PUBLISHER: Paraninfo
GENRE: Children’s Literature
READER’S NAME: Alejandro Varderi
DATE: May 26, 2021
De aquí para allá deals with immigration to the USA from Latin America. Based on her own experiences as an immigrant from Argentina, the author draws a somehow bland portrait of the adaptation process that a family must follow when moving to a new country.
Imagining it as “una verdadera aventura que viviremos los cuatro juntos, en familia,” (p. 16) (a real adventure that the four of us will live as a family,) Yelín focuses on the need to learn a new language and to understand the American costumes. Since this is the story of a white middle class professional family with a house and a job awaiting them, and coming on a plane from a stable country, there are no traumatic, racial, or economic concerns involved. Therefore, the message of the dramas connected to immigration do not come across, as in more powerful works by other authors in this genre, such as Mary Hoffman (The Color of Home), Karen Lynn Williams (Four Feet, Two Sandals) or Ama Irma Pérez (My Diary from Here to There.)
There is very little going on in this book, aside from revealing that the newly arrived Capajomi family has some minor discomforts in the empty house, so they need to eat on paper plates until the furniture arrives, or the son does not understand English in his first day of class. Even the tantrum that the father has because “hay días en que me cuesta mucho entender el idioma!” (p. 47) (There are days when I have a hard time understanding the language!) does not bring anything worth knowing to the story: they cry a little and shortly after la “tarde siguió linda y divertida. Porque la familia apajomi estaba muy contenta de poder estar todos juntos jugando y mirando televisión.” (p. 48) (The afternoon was still bright and fun. Because the Capajomi family was very happy to be together playing and watching TV.) n this book, all “minor” problems linked to immigration are quickly solved, even though the author does not delve much into how the family adapted so fast to life in an American suburb. Soon they are happily settled, and even the grandparents come for a visit and have a great time.
A time that goes by smoothly, and when autumn comes, the son moves to elementary school and feels sad because “No quiero MUDARME de clase. ¡Otra vez cambiar todo! Eso es como EMIGRAR. Voy a echar de menos a mi maestra y a mis amigos.” (p. 94) (I don't want to MOVE to another class. Must change everything again! That is like to EMIGRATE. I'm going to miss my teacher and my friends.) Thus, banalizing the shocks of immigration in children less fortunate.
Overall, De aquí para allá neither brings something new to children’s fiction on immigration, nor sparks the imagination of young readers. However, the illustrations are excellent and beautiful to look at.
