I like this n\book because it tought me a lot about how the author's background relates to the stories that she writes. The book was much more interesting and understandable once I knew about the one who wrote it!

I personally think that Sandra Cisneros wrote this book for the female audience. She seems to be some sort of a man hater. I guess she really does not like men in any kind of fasion. So for all you man haters this is a good book for you. Everyene else stay away. A better book would be the dictionary

Lo que ami me gusto sobre el libro fue que tiene en algunas partes muchas canciones bonitas. Tambien que esta facil para leer para personas que se les hace mucho trabajo leer. Esta historia que yo lei se trataba de una senora que tenia 6 hijos y su marido la abandono. La senora ya no queria a los ninos porque eran muchos y la enfadaban, y por eso ella se iva a trabajar y los dejaba solos en la casa sin nadie que los atendiera, Ms.Hernadez decia que ya estaba enfadada de ellos. Yo pienso que si talvez el senor no los huviera abandonado su padre y que los ninos fueran ala escuela para que no fueran tan mal educados fueran una familia feliz sin problemas.

I have read this book aloud, in English and Spanish, to students grade 3-5 and they were all MESMERIZED by it. The reason is that they had never heard a book written in a child's voice, about everyday experiences similar to their own. The part about one of the girls being tempted to kiss the bum for a dollar got a great discussion going, with many students giving their opinion about what the girl should or should not do. Also, Elena Poniatowska did an amazing job of translating from English to Spanish. Nothing was lost, not even the voice. Poniatowska is an author in her own right, and therefore was able to achieve a perfect translation.

The House on Mango Street is a very deep and complicated book of vignettes. It is about a Mexican American girl growing up in the ghetto of Chicago. The girl, Esperanza, is faced with many different situations, each showing her maturity in unusual ways. As the book continues she runs from a man trying to kiss her, later the book shows her desire to be kissed by a boy she likes.
Sandra Cisneros is Mexican American herself, which helped her create realistic characters. She used excellent dialogue that keeps your interest, while sometimes confusing you.
The House on Mango Street is unique in its structure. The vignettes hop from completely different problems to completely different people leaving you feeling like you're trying to piece together a puzzle. One vignette is entitled "Alicia Who Sees Mice," and another is called "Bums in the Attic." After reading this book, I was left frustrated, because I couldn't seem to put the puzzle pieces together.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a wonderfully written novel about a young Latino girl growing up in Chicago. Instead of writing the book as one long story she tells the story of Esperanza with short stories, written like a diary. Cisneros separates each story by going to a new chapter. The book follows Esperanza from when she is a very young girl until she is a young adult in high school. Cisneros does a wonderful job of starting out writing from the point of view of a young child and then gradually alters the writing to eventually reflect that of a teenager. Esperanza's growing up experience gives her many convictions. She does not want to live on Mango Street and be poor. Her goal in life is to succeed and then come back and help the people that continue to live on Mango Street. By observing the people around her she decided she does not want a man to run her life. Through Esperanza's experiences and convictions Cisneros brings up many of the hardships that immigrants undergo moving into the United States. As well as poverty Cisneros bring up the language barrier and adjusting to a different culture. She also depicts much of the Latino culture, examples being the role of women and the importance of family. The beginning of the novel could be difficult for some people to get into because the chapters start out so short and do not really flow into one another very well, but I would urge you to stick with is as the book is well worth it. I would highly recommend this book not just for entertainment purposes but also if you are interested in learning more about Latinos.

There is a growing genre of books by people of Latin, Asian, and African-American heritage, describing their lives and cultures, often in juxtaposition to the Anglo mainstream they may or may not have dealings with. The House on Mango Street fits into this genre, and at the same time extends it. Cisneros writes with a deeply personal voice. At her core she is an individual, a watcher, as are most children; she happens also to be a girl in a Latino neighborhood. The people and events in this community are distilled through her eyes into small fables, moral lessons, and epiphanies: the moments and connections that shape a child into the adult she will become. The rhythmic songs of rope-jumpers, a drunk on the street, the potency of one's first pair of high-heeled shoes, the cruelty and kindness of friends; she takes them all in, using everything as food to nourish her dream of someday having her own house. It's not surprising that the adult Seasoners indeed does, nor that its eccentricity puts some of her neighbors on edge - but those are stories from other books of hers, equally worth reading.

This book, Hairs (Pelitos) is bilangual, and that's nice. Sandra Cisneros is a good writer, even though this is definately not her best work. The illustrations are sort of crazy, too. An ok book, but your local library would probably be the smarter choice here.

Loose Woman is a gathering of earthy, sexy, raunchy, cool, and lyrical poems. Celebrations of the pleasures of being a Woman, they cry out to be heard aloud, so when I saw this cassette I snapped it up. If anyone could do justice to this poety, I figured, it would be the Gal who wrote it. Imagine my utter dismay at hearing Cisneros' thin, high-pitched voice attempt "You Bring Out the Mexican in Me." Cisneros' voice is so annoying I couldn't finish the cassette; it set my nerves on edge. I ended up not only disappointed in my purchase, but disgusted at the conceit of Cisneros reading her own poetry rather than acknowledging that she did not have the voice to match her smoky pen.