The Weaver’s Daughter
Sylvia Patience
“Sometimes people disappear into the North and are never heard from again.”
When her papá doesn’t return, twelve-year-old Ixchel, a Maya from the Yucatan, resolves to leave home and make her way across the treacherous border into the United States to find him. Chel relies on an inexperienced smuggler and faces unknown dangers in a border tunnel.
Frightened, but resourceful, she is driven by hope, love for her father, and her dream of going to school.
Winner of a 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book award
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About The Author
Sylvia Patience
Sylvia Patience has written three books for middle grade readers: Toto’s Tale and True Chronicle of Oz, the beloved Oz adventure retold from the point of view of Dorothy’s little dog, and The Double Crossing, the tale of thirteen-year-olds David and Hannah as they attempt to escape Nazi Germany, and The Weaver’s Daughter, which follows a young girl’s immigration journey from Mexico. The Weaver’s Daughter received a 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book award.
Several of Sylvia’s short fairy tales have won prizes in the international Hans Christian Andersen contest in Sestri Levante, Italy, including first prize for a foreign entry in 2022. Her poems have appeared in The Porter Gulch Review, Calyx Journal, and poetry anthologies. Sylvia is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Sylvia lived in Mexico for several years. She speaks fluent Spanish and volunteers with the Santa Cruz Welcoming Network which helps new immigrants in the community. She lives in Santa Cruz, California with her family and small dog, where she enjoys seeing the variety of birds found along the coast, in the wetlands, and the mountains. You can find out more about her world and works at her website, sylviapatience.com.
Kirkus Reviews –
“The plot and pacing are solid, and the characters are well developed, making for an enjoyable and educational story for young readers. An engaging tale about family and migration.”
Kirkus Reviews
Eve Bunting –
“Ixchel’s story, told with honesty and sympathy, will stir readers’ hearts.”
Eve Bunting, award-winning author of more than 250 children’s books
Jackie Pascoe –
This is a story told plainly in a pitch perfect voice. Ixchel to me is completely believable, though I don’t know anyone like her. I trust the author’s grasp of her culture and situation and the reality of a young girl caught in a desperate gamble to reunite with her father. I loved this book, and I felt this girl’s story deeply.