Free to Learn: How Alfredo Lopez Fought for the Right to Go to School
by Cynthia Levinson (Author) Mirelle Ortega (Illustrator)
From the author of the award-winning The Youngest Marcher comes a picture book about the true story of Alfredo Lopez, an undocumented boy involved in a landmark Supreme Court case that still ensures children’s right to education today.
Alfredo Lopez has so many questions before starting second grade! Will his friends be in his class? Will his teacher speak Spanish? But then his parents tell him that he has to stay home, and Alfredo’s questions change. Why can’t he go to school with the other kids? And why is his family going to the courthouse?
In 1977, the school district of Tyler, Texas, informed parents that, unless they could provide proof of citizenship, they would have to pay for their children to attend public school. Four undocumented families fought back in a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Alfredo was one of the students involved in Plyler v. Doe, which made a difference for children all over the country for years to come.
Alfredo Lopez has so many questions before starting second grade! Will his friends be in his class? Will his teacher speak Spanish? But then his parents tell him that he has to stay home, and Alfredo’s questions change. Why can’t he go to school with the other kids? And why is his family going to the courthouse?
In 1977, the school district of Tyler, Texas, informed parents that, unless they could provide proof of citizenship, they would have to pay for their children to attend public school. Four undocumented families fought back in a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Alfredo was one of the students involved in Plyler v. Doe, which made a difference for children all over the country for years to come.
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Hardcover
$18.99
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Kirkus
Frank and sympathetic in presenting a lesser-known landmark in the struggle for human rights.
Cynthia Levinson
Cynthia Levinson is the author of nonfiction books for young readers that focus on social justice, including The Youngest Marcher, The People's Painter, and Fault Lines in the Constitution. Her books have received the Sibert Medal, the Carter G. Woodson Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and numerous other honors. She has two daughters, two sons-in-law, four grandchildren, and two grand-dogs--all of whom are thoroughly splendid. Cynthia and her husband divide their time between Austin and Boston, which, helpfully, rhyme, in case she gets lost. Mirelle Ortega is a Mexican writer and artist based in Los Angeles. She is the author-illustrator of Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land, a Pura Belpré Honor Book, and the illustrator of several books, including Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julián and Joaquin Castro by Monica Brown and Free to Learn by Cynthia Levinson. Mirelle has a BFA in digital art and 3D animation from the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico and an MFA from Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781665904278
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date
April 02, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Historical
JNF025210 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | United States/20th Century
JNF018030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic/Latino
JNF025210 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | United States/20th Century
JNF018030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic/Latino
Library of Congress categories
United States
Texas
Law and legislation
Education
Children of noncitizens
Texas
Law and legislation
Education
Children of noncitizens
