Reviews

Designed for ages eleven and up, these books explore the lives of Latinos who have had a positive impact on the lives of young people in the United States and around the world. On Christ-mas Eve 1963, at the age of 33, Jaime Escalante emigrated from Bolivia to the United States. He left his wife and young son be-hind until he found a job and a place for them to live. In Bolivia he'd been a respected and highly sought after math and science teacher although he was unhappy with the unrest of the country. Here in the United States Escalante was just another immigrant who did not know any English. He took a job mopping floors at VandeKamp's restaurant directly across from Pasadena City Col-lege, but had dreams of teaching again. By 1974 he had earned his Associate of Arts degree from Pasadena City College, his Bach-elor of Arts degree in Mathematics from California State Uni-versity, Los Angeles, and his California teaching credential and he was teaching Advanced Placement calculus at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. In 1988 the story of Escalante and his students was made into the award-wining film Stand and Deliver. His story will inspire young students to follow their dreams and remember, "The greatest thing you have is your self image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you."