Winner of the UNESCO Tolerance Awards and the Jane Addams Children's
Book Award, and an Americas Award Commended Title
Life is simple for Pedro -- he goes to school, does his homework and,
most importantly, plays soccer. But when the soldiers come and take his
friend Daniel's father away, things suddenly become much more
complicated.
Why, for instance, do Pedro's parents secretly listen to the radio every
evening after dinner? And why does the government want Pedro and his
classmates to write compositions about what their parents do in the
evening?
Humorous, serious and intensely human, this powerful picture book by
Chilean writer Antonio Skarmeta presents a situation all too familiar to
children around the world. And for children it provides food for thought
about freedom, moral choices and personal responsibility.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language
Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or
feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of
events
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those
of the characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to
what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize
aspects of a character or setting)
