Tomas and the Library Lady

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Mora, Pat. 1997. Tomas and the Library Lady. Ill. by Raul Colon. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 0679804013.

PLOT SUMMARY:
Tomas and his family travel from Texas to Iowa in search of work as migrant field workers. While in Iowa, Tomas is encouraged, by his grandfather, to visit the local library in search of new stories to share with the family. He is befriended by the public librarian. They begin a friendship that changes his life. This story is based on the life of a Mexican-American educator and chancellor of a California University, Tomas Rivera.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The illustrations of this text are mostly shades of brown with little color mixed in. The use of watercolors and color pencils portray Tomas’s family life and imagination in almost the same hues. Skin tone and facial features distinguish the migrant workers from the “tall library lady” with blonde hair. Tomas’ general environment as a migrant worker is depicted with the revelation that his family travels to pick fruits and vegetables and that he and his family share lodgings with other migrant families. Names of characters are also cultural markers used in this book, for example the grandpa is affectionately called Papa Grande (Big Daddy). Pan Dulce (sweet bread) is also a cultural food item mentioned in this story. Spanish words indicate the specific culture. Words such as, pajaro (bird), libro (book), gracias (thank you) and buenas dias (good morning) are used in the story to illustrate the culture of Tomas and his family.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S):

Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Gr 2-4 Tomás Rivera, who at his death in 1984 was the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, grew up in a migrant family. Here, Mora tells the fictionalized story of one summer in his childhood during which his love of books and reading is fostered by a librarian in Iowa, who takes him under her wing while his family works the harvest. She introduces him to stories about dinosaurs, horses, and American Indians and allows him to take books home where he shares them with his parents, grandfather, and brother. When it is time for the family to return to Texas, she gives Tomás the greatest gift of all book of his own to keep. Colón's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tomás's reading adventures in appealing ways. Stack this up with Sarah Stewart and David Small's The Library (Farrar, 1995) and Suzanne Williams and Steven Kellogg's Library Lil (Dial, 1997) to demonstrate the impact librarians can have on youngsters.”

Review from KIRKUS REVIEWS: “A charming, true story about the encounter between the boy who would become chancellor at the University of California at Riverside and a librarian in Iowa. Tom;s Rivera, child of migrant laborers, picks crops in Iowa in the summer and Texas in the winter, traveling from place to place in a worn old car. When he is not helping in the fields, Tomas likes to hear Papa Grande's stories, which he knows by heart. Papa Grande sends him to the library downtown for new stories, but Tomas finds the building intimidating. The librarian welcomes him, inviting him in for a cool drink of water and a book. Tomas reads until the library closes, and leaves with books checked out on the librarian's own card. For the rest of the summer, he shares books and stories with his family, and teaches the librarian some Spanish. At the end of the season, there are big hugs and a gift exchange: sweet bread from Tomas mother and a shiny new book from the librarian to keep. Colon's dreamy illustrations capture the brief friendship and its life-altering effects in soft earth tones, using round sculptured shapes that often depict the boy right in the middle of whatever story realm he's entered. (Picture book. 7-10)”

AWARDS

Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee 2000

CONNECTIONS
Activities
*Use as read aloud to introduce the library and librarian.

*Use as Dia de los Ninos, Dia de los libros reading selection.

*Read during cultural awareness or reading program.

*Along with other titles by this author, create an author’s spotlight display.