Spring 2025

Starred Review The Pecan Sheller

  • Interest Level: Grade 5 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 5

In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer.

But with her beloved father dead, two younger siblings to care for, and with a stepmother struggling to make ends meet, Petra has to drop out of school to shell pecans at a factory. Hoping it’s only temporary, she tries not to despair over the grueling work conditions. But after the unhealthy environment leads to tragedy and workers’ already low wages are cut, Petra knows things need to change. She and her coworkers go on strike for higher wages and safer conditions, risking everything they have for the hope of a better future.

“Heart-warming and enraging in equal parts, this important American story reveals the power of family, community, and hope.”—Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times-bestselling author

Format Your Price Add
979-8-7656-1052-7
$14.24
979-8-7656-5109-4
$23.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Grade 5 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 5
Category Diverse Books: #OwnVoices, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Class, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity, SEL: A Self-Awareness, SEL: B Self-Management, SEL: D Relationship Skills, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2025
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Books ®
Language English
Number of Pages 256
Publication Date 2025-04-01
Text Type Fiction—Historical
BISACS JUV016150, JUV039290, JUV039070
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.25 x 7.5
Guided Reading Level V
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Author/Illustrator note, Reviewed, Starred Reviews, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Reviews

Starred Review Publishers Weekly

“Using short chapters with quick pacing, Ruiz-Flores (Piece by Piece) unveils intimate and well-researched depictions of the Pecan Shellers Strike of 1938 and its impact on Mexican descendants and beyond.”—starred, Publishers Weekly

Starred Review Booklist

“A powerful, moving story explores the little-known but important story of the six-week pecan shellers’ strike.”—starred, Booklist

Starred Review Kirkus Reviews

“The story deftly explores the nuances of both Petra’s and Amá’s relationship and traumas, as well as the strength and hope to be found in family and community. A poignantly, beautifully written tale.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews

Crystal Allen

“Lupe Ruiz-Flores cracks open a time capsule revealing a daunting period in San Antonio’s history and delicate layers of her main character—a young girl who stands to lose everything as she ignites a monumental protest for change.”—Crystal Allen, author of Between Two Brothers

Diana López

“Ruiz-Flores brings 1930s San Antonio and Petra’s coming-of-age journey to life. What results is a story about resourcefulness, resilience, and love.”—Diana López, author of Los Monstruos: Rooster and the Dancing Diablo

Laurie Halse Anderson

“Heart-warming and enraging in equal parts, this important American story reveals the power of family, community, and hope.”—Laurie Halse Anderson