Yenebi’s Drive to School by Sendy Santamaria is about Yenebi, her sister Melanie, and mom drive to school every morning across the US-Mexico border. The end. Except it isn’t. You would not think that a trip to school would be as full as it is for Yenebi, but it is. It is wildly adventurous.
Waking at four in the morning to get ready for the drive. Beating on if it will take two or three hours to get there. Wait? Two to three HOURS? You see, Yenbi must travel in some terribly congested streets, where things don’t move. In fact, you can call out to a vendor and ask for almost anything from food to drink, or various products and they will bring it to you in your car. Almost anything you could want is handed to you through your car window. This is how the sisters get breakfast. Melanie brings her blanket so she can catch more sleep as they wait. And the time the three spend together is both bonding and educational. Because when they come close to the border, the atmosphere changes, and the girls wake up, brush their hair and when asked for their traveling papers, mom hands them quietly with a smile.
This book does not seem it would have such an emotional message, but it does. The colors bring to life the street, the buildings and the people. And they, in all their colors and details, show us what some people will do for an education. The sacrifices this family makes for something as taken-for-granted as schooling is for us, are mind blowing! There are no fireworks, car chases, or scary big monsters, but this is an action story nonetheless.
Great for most ages five and up. I read via an online reader copy, though currently available. Written in English and Spanish.