Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books that offer a gentle introduction to the idea of migrant work and workers.“I work in a state of passion and compulsion,” the great painter Juan Miró wrote in his reflections on art and the creative process. The artwork is beautiful, ably capturing Anna's flights of fancy, whether she is imagining herself and her sisters as kittens, or her family as migrating birds.

I was unaware of this community of Mennonites, before picking up the book, and although I didn't learn much more about them specifically - something I have seen criticized - I felt that the story was successful in exploring, not just the emotional costs of this kind of work, but also the feeling of being set apart, when one belongs to a small religious minority. Migrant pairs an emotionally rich but understated narrative from author Maxine Trottier with lovely artwork from illustrator Isabelle Arsenault, poignantly depicting the emotional life of a child of migrant workers. Eventually, at the end of the season, her family migrates again. She sometimes feels shy and out of place amongst Canada's English-speaking people - her community speak Low German, or Plautdietsch - but she also enjoys hearing unfamiliar words and tones. Anna wonders about many things, chief amongst them what it would feel like to be settled. Still citizens of Canada, which they left in the 1920s, they come for the work that will help them survive in their adopted home, where life is hard. ( )Īnna and her Mennonite family migrate every year from their farms in Mexico to work in Canada's fields. I would highly recommend reading this book, but without the context of the author's note, you would not know what the book was referring to. The illustrations were also amazing each of the metaphors Anna uses come to life in the drawings.

This book was very eye-opening, providing insight into a way of life that is not often talked about. Other people also stare at Anna and her family for the same reason. Anna also is confused by the people she sees in the grocery store, with their brightly colored hair and tattoos, because it is so different from her family's way of life. We get a glimpse into how Anna feels through her figurative language. The text uses a lot of metaphors, with Anna comparing herself to a migrating bird, a burrowing jackrabbit, and a kitten snuggled with siblings. This book was written to raise awareness for families such as Anna's. Conditions are difficult, their temporary homes are shabby yet expensive, and people treat them poorly as migrant workers. They travel from their homes in Mexico back up to Canada to find work. This is a really powerful story about a group of migrant workers from Mexico, the Mennonites.

Migrant by Maxine Trottier