Return to Sender

Return to Sender. Julia Alvarex. Random House, Inc., Listening Library, 2010. 6 discs/7 hrs., 33 mins.  $39.00 (Audiobook - CD). Grade 5-8. English with some Spanish.

Tyler would rather do anything than allow his family to sell their dairy farm in Vermont, but after his dad’s debilitating tractor accident there seems to be few alternatives.  Mari Cruz wants nothing more than her mother to return to their family, but when her uncles, dad, and sisters leave North Carolina to work in Vermont, her mother’s trip from Mexico gets much longer.  Little did these two children know that they would soon be each other’s heroes and best friends. Award winning author Julia Alvarez has written an emotional story of friendship and family amidst the challenges of immigration and migrant work in the United States. Important concepts of deportation, immigration, and patriotism are all introduced in this narrative and additional author’s note. Although relevant and informative, the audio recording of Return to Sender, read by Ozzie Rodriquez and Olivia Preciado, moves slowly and requires more time than reading the text would. Recommended with Reservations.