Recently, fifth-grade students at Wellington Elementary School became expert dollmakers. They put their fine motor skills to work creating yarn dolls to go along with their read aloud, Esperanza Rising. The novel focuses on Esperanza, the only daughter of wealthy Mexican parents, and the events that occur after her father’s murder and her subsequent move to California. Esperanza’s mother makes dolls out of yarn, and in a pivotal scene in the novel, Esperanza gives a yarn doll to Isabel, a girl who helps her learn about farm duties in her new life.
