Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War

2020, Eerdman's Books for Young Readers, Junior Library Guild gold Standard

"Some cry. Especially at night.  They say they dream that the ground is crumbling. The houses are crumbling, and their memories are blank. Clara, Sonia, Eulalia, Maria wake us up. They say it's just a dream, one taht we all dream together. Clara, Sonia, Eulalaia, Maria , our sisters, collect our tears in their handkerchiefs and in the morning return them to the sea."

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Maria Jose Ferrada

Ferrado is the children's editor of Chilean Memory, a digital resource center of the National Library of Chile. She has published nearly 40 children's books with her most recent title, How to Order the Universe, is translated into Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, and German, and is also being published all over the Spanish-speaking world.

Ana Penyas

Penyas is the first woman to win Spain's National Comic Award for her first graphic novel, We are Well, published in 2018. She graduated with a degrees in Fine Arts and Industrial Design from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in 2015. In a few short years, Penyas has received numerous awards and recognition for her work.

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Book Synopsis

In May, 1937 the Spanish Republicans sent their children out of the Spanish Civil war zone to Morelia, Mexico.  Each of the 456 children packed a suitcase and set sail on the Mexique, believing they would return to their homes in a few short months. Although welcomed by Mexico as war heroes, the children were never able to return to their homes.

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Picture book, 40 pages. Children of the Spanish Republicans were sent to Mexico during the Civil War.

Learning Options

Family Read Aloud Time
Mexique is an excellent read aloud choice when your child starts to ask about war. Although, I would not recommend it as a bed-time read aloud; the pictures and text are quite poignant which could be quite unsettling for little minds and hearts as they head off to sleep. 

Classroom Resource
There is a superb resource for middle/high school students, Teaching the Spanish Civil War over at the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Add Mexique to supplemental resources to give insight into the emotional costs of war.

Learning at Home
PopulationEducation offers some great suggestions for introducing immigration, as well as additional reliable digital resources, in5 Tips for Teaching Immigration to Elementary Students. This resource is not specific to Mexique.

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