A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez

A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez is a novel in verse based on the true story of Roberto Alvarez and the Lemon Grove Incident. Twelve-year-old Roberto, the youngest of his siblings and born in the United States, becomes the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the school board when the Lemon Grove community is forced into a segregated "Americanization" school—an old barn retrofitted for Mexican children. Driven by anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican sentiment during the Great Depression, the school board and chamber of commerce create the separate Olive Street School. Facing threats of deportation, the Comité de Vecinos, with support from the Mexican Consulate, choose to fight back. This novel in verse follows their determination and Roberto's courage to stand up for what is right. Set against the backdrop of Mexican Repatriation, this story chronicles the United States' first successful school desegregation case, occurring two decades before Brown v. Board of Education. The book is a Newbery Honor Book, Pura Belpré Honor Book, Jane Addams Children's Book Award Winner, and Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction Winner.