The Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar – Book Review
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Title: The Land of the Cranes Author: Aida Salazar Publisher: Scholastic Press Release Date: September 15, 2020  |
Summary
Betita’s father has told her the story many times before. Their people came from Aztlán, land of the cranes, a sanctuary somewhere in the present-day Southwest United States. Even though the people left the place of the cranes to establish a city, Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City), their people will one day return to Aztlán and live with the cranes once more. Now, Betita embraces her inner crane, knowing that charting a course to live in the promised land of Los Angeles will allow her to fly and be freed from the danger her family leaves behind in Mexico. However, as undocumented immigrants in an increasingly hostile United States, Betita and her family face the threat of ICE round-ups and deportation at every turn. When Papi does not pick Betita up from school one day, her family’s worst fears are realized. In reality, the worst is to come. Betita still hopes to fly but when her own wings are clipped and she’s put in a cage, her hope for a safe and secure future shatter. It will take all her family’s strength and resolve to be together once again.
Review
Aida Salazar’s The Land of the Cranes is a stunning novel in verse. Betita’s story humanizes the news headlines about undocumented immigrants, their experiences in the United States, and the consequences of policies that affect them. It demands readers engage the subject with deep empathy. The prolific crane metaphor drives home all the novel’s literary elements, from character to conflict to theme, and the imagery of it captures Betita’s story perfectly. While 2020 seems to be the year for novels in verse, The Land of the Cranes is aptly suited for the style. Its content, covering undocumented immigrants, detention centers, and family separation, are heavy topics for young readers, but they are topical. Meanwhile, the verse makes the issues accessible. The bite-size poems reveal a stunning truth but do so in a way that allows young people to grapple with the injustices and dehumanizing experiences they tell about detained immigrants in the US.
The Land of the Cranes is heartbreaking, powerful, and perspective-changing. Middle grade readers would greatly benefit from reading Betita’s story. Coupled with a cross-curricular study about the history of immigration and the United States, students would develop not only a more thorough understanding of immigration’s complicated place in American history but also a better understanding of the debates still occurring about it. The Land of the Cranes also presents an opportunity to infuse art into the ELA and History classroom. Using Betita’s work as a springboard, such an inclusion would allow for even deeper analysis of and self-reflection about the novel’s complex topics. The topics merit that time. Rightfully, it would apply a lens that helps students better understand the country’s past, present, and future.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Scholastic Press, for an eARC of this book.
Classroom Applications
- Unit – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of the history of U.S. immigration, especially as it pertains to Central and South America.
- Thematic Literature Circle – Use novel for small groups or choice reading for books about immigration.
Nonfiction Connections
The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.
- U.S. History of Immigration
- Life of Immigrants in the U.S.
- Current Events and Contemporary Issues – Family Separation
- Immigration Push and Pull Factors
Book Companions
The following are great books to pair with The Land of the Cranes. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.
- Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros (Nonfiction Connections, Character Connections, Themes)
- Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Nonfiction Connections, Character Connections, Themes)
- Refugee by Alan Gratz (Character Connections, Themes)
- Front Desk by Kelly Yang (Character Connections, Themes)
- Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson (Themes, Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections)
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