Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

Bibliography
Mora, Pat. 1997. Tomas and the Library Lady. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Illustrator: Raul Colon
ISBN: 0-679-80401-3

Summary
Tomas' migrant worker family travel from Texas to Iowa to work the fields for the summer. While in Iowa, Papa Grande encourages Tomas to go to the public library where he can learn more stories to tell. The grandness of the library intimidates Tomas, but the librarian puts him at ease. At the library, Tomas finds new stories to share with his family, teaches the librarian Spanish words, and escapes into the imaginary world the books present. A sad day comes. Tomas must go back to Texas, but not before Tomas and the librarian exchange gifts.

Critical Analysis
Award-winning poet and author, Pat Mora, along with the dreamy illustrations by Raul Colon, tell a touching tale of a young boy and a librarian.

Mora and Colon do a great job developing Tomas' character. The illustrations of Tomas imagining himself riding a dinosaur and the words Mora uses when Tomas describes how hot he is makes it is easy to connect with Tomas. Mora makes the family connection as an undercurrent of the story, but the illustrations show a strong family connection. The family all enjoy hearing Tomas' stories and spend time together doing different activities. Mora portrays the librarian as a comfort to Tomas, leading him to a world of books.

One Hispanic American cultural marker Mora provides is the story is based on migrant worker, Tomas Rivera. Historically, migrant workers are often Hispanic Americans in the Texas region.

Another Hispanic American marker is found in the forms of address and names. Mora refers to the grandfather as Papa Grande, father as Papa, and mother as Mama. The names of the two boys are Enrique and Tomas, both of which are names originating from Spain. Additionally, Mora sprinkles a few Spanish words throughout the text, for example, buenas noches and uno, dos, tres to give an example of Tomas using his native language.

The illustrations also help portray Hispanic American cultural markers. Tomas and his family all are drawn with dark skin, especially in comparison to the librarian. It appears that the family and the librarian are of different races because of the hair color, skin color, and eye color. On one page, Tomas and the librarian are in the same picture. Tomas has dark skin, dark brown eyes and hair. The librarian's skin color is much lighter. She also has light brown or even blond hair and blue eyes. The dark skin, hair, and eyes are typical of Hispanic Americans with indigenous blood lines of Mexico, but not to be confused with Hispanic Americans with Spanish blood lines.

Tomas and the Library Lady is a refreshing story, where the main character is part of a parallel culture. Through Tomas' actions displayed in the story, many children, especially Hispanic American children, can be provided with a positive image of a Hispanic American boy's life.

Review Excerpts
Kirkus Review reports, Tomas and the Library Lady is "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" (1997).

Booklist states, "Tomas and the Library Lady is "an elemental American experience: the uprooted child who finds a home in the library. Mora's story is based on a true incident in the life of the famous writer Tomas Rivera....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" (1997).

Connections
Other stories by Pat Mora:
Dona Flor
Confeti
Adobe Odes
The Song of Francis and the Animals
A Library for Juana
The Bakery Lady
Love to Mama
The Rainbow Tulip
The Big Sky