Review: TOMÁS AND THE LIBRARY LADY by Pat Mora

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. 1997. Tomás and the Library Lady. Ill. by Raul Colón. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679904018.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Mora tells the fictionalized story of a summer in the life of Dr. Tomás Rivera, former chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, who grew up in a migrant family. During one summer trip in which his family worked for a farmer picking corn, Tomás befriended the local librarian and began his lifelong love of reading.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Pat Mora tells the endearing story of a young boy and his family who travel to Iowa for the summer to pick corn. Through the stories his grandfather tells, the boy develops of love of stories and is encouraged by his grandfather to visit the local library. Through the vivid descriptions, the reader can feel Tomás’ reluctance and trepidation as he approaches the doors of the library for the first time. Mora further reveals to the reader the special bond the librarian and Tomás build over the summer when she introduces him to the worlds that reading can open up. Although they are sparsely evident and literally translated, the Spanish words in the story reflect Tomás’ efforts to teach Spanish to the librarian. This helps to add depth to the relationship between Tomás and the “library lady.”

Colón’s soft illustrations depict the delightful relationship that Tomás and the librarian share through their love of reading. The illustrations of Tomás in his “book world” demonstrate how this young boy gets lost in his reading from riding on the backs of dinosaurs to riding a horse across the hot, dry desert. The pictures of Tomás and his family authentically show their ethnicity without stereotyping their features. The grandfather’s full, white mustache and the olive tones of all of the family members are genuinely Hispanic. In fact, while reading this book to my four-year, he took one look at the picture of the grandfather and exclaimed, “Tio Pancho” because of the resemblance shown between the picture and his uncle. (I think it was the mustache.)



4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Tomas 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.”

BOOKLIST review: “Colon's beautiful scratchboard illustrations, in his textured, glowingly colored, rhythmic style, capture the warmth and the dreams that the boy finds in the world of books. The pictures are upbeat; little stress is shown; even in the fields, the kids could be playing kick ball or listening to stories. Perhaps the most moving picture is that of the child outside the library door, his face pressed against the pane. In contrast is the peaceful space he finds inside, where he is free to imagine dinosaurs and wild adventure.”

5. CONNECTIONS
After researching about the lives of migrant workers, students can place themselves into the role of a child who belongs to a family of migrant workers. Then students will keep a “journal” of their travels.

Teachers and librarians could use this book to illustrate how a librarian can be more than just a person who checks out books. Librarians can help them find books that will speak to them and take them to places they have never been.