Winner of the Pura Belpré Children's Author Award
A Kirkus Best Middle-Grade Book of the Year
Junior Library Guild Selection
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
A Junior Library Guild Selection
About the Author :
Lupe Ruiz-Flores is the author of six bilingual picture books. She is a former Regional Advisor for the Southwest Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and until recently its newsletter editor. She is a member of the Writers League of Texas, Texas Library Association, Las Musas, and Kindling Words. She was awarded the Tejas Star Book Award for three consecutive years and won the Pura Belpré Children's Author Award for The Pecan Sheller in 2026. Her poetry and short stories have been published in anthologies, including Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. She was recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.
Review :
"A powerful, moving story explores the little-known but important story of the six-week pecan shellers' strike."—starred, Booklist
"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
"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
"Based on the real-life pecan sheller's strike of 1938, Ruiz-Flores's captivating tale is filled with hope."—New York Times Book Review
"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
"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
