I would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Sr. Timothy Marie, O.C.D., and the Carmelite Sisters without whom this book would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Mrs. Cruz for her support of my Girl Scout Gold Award project. 

In a small town in Mexico, there lived a little girl named Leticia. Her friends and family called her Leti. She lived with her mom, dad, and abuela.

Mija, we are moving!

When Leti was 13, her parents had a lot of trouble finding work. They decided to begin a journey. She and her family were going to find a new home in the United States of America.

Leti and her family moved to a small city in California. Her parents worked hard all the time, so she would spend a lot of time with her abuela. Her abuela would tell her lots of stories. Leti loved listening to all of them.

dog = perro

cat = gato

bird = pajaro

September 23, 2020

You learn very fast, Leti! You are so smart!

Since Leti's family spoke Spanish, she would spend her recess and lunchtime inside with her teacher to learn English and for help with her homework. Many of her classmates noticed this and became jealous. They thought she was the teacher's favorite. 

Why don't you just go back home to Mexico! You don't belong here!

The girls in her class would laugh at Leti's accent and make fun of her for spending so much time with her abuela. One day a girl told her to go back to Mexico. This made Leti so sad. She went home crying. 

The girls at my school have been bullying me because I am Mexican, Abuela.

Her abuela saw her crying and she asked Leti what had happened. Leti told her everything. Her abuela said, 

        "Aw, mija let me tell you a story..." 

In a small town in Mexico, there lived a little girl named Maria Luisa. She was very rich and did not think about the poor. Her parents did and they taught her to care about the poor and sick. She had a tutor for school who taught her all about God. When Maria Luisa was older, she married a doctor. Sadly they couldn't have children, so they decided their children would be the poor and the sick. They did all they  could for them.  After Maria Luisa's husband died,