Napa County Reads has selected the autobiographic stories by Francisco Jiménez ’66, an award-winning writer who chronicles his humble beginnings and struggles to complete his education as the son of migrant workers from Mexico, to be shared with area middle school students.

Napa County Reads will host Jiménez at two presentations in November, as well as at sessions with young students.

Napa County Reads, coordinated by the Napa County Office of Education, is a coalition of educators and residents dedicated to improving the reading experiences of students throughout Napa County with an emphasis on middle schools.

Each year, the committee selects a book that is read in the fall, followed by special events that include a visit from the author. 

Jiménez emigrated with his family from Tlaquepaque, Mexico to California and as a child worked alongside his parents in the fields of California. He received his bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and a masters and Ph.D. in Latin American literature from Columbia University under a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship.

He has have won several national literary awards. His books have been published in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Italian and Spanish. His stories have been reprinted in more than 100 textbooks and anthologies of literature. He is professor emeritus for the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara University.

Jiménez’s autobiographical books include: “The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child,” “Breaking Through,” “Reaching Out,” and “Taking Hold: From Migrant Childhood to Columbia University.”

For more information: http://www.napacoe.org/napa-county-reads/.