Tomás and the Library Lady
Mora, Pat. TOMÁS AND THE LIBRARY LADY. 1997. Ill. by Raul Colón. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679804013
Plot Summary
The time of the year is summer as the story opens with Tomás and his family driving late at night to reach Iowa where they will join other migrant Mexican farm workers to harvest the crops. While the adults are working Tomás and his brother Enrique listen to stories told to them by their grandfather, Papá Grande. Pretty soon Tomás knows all Papá Grande's stories and begins to ask for new stories. Papá Grande encourages him to visit the local library where he can learn new stories and share them with the family. Tomás gets the courage to go inside the formidable building and mets the librarian who introduces him to various books and multitudes of stories as well as gives him cool water to drink and offers him a comfortable place to read and ponder over his books. Since he cannot have a library card she checks books out to him under her name. When the afternoon is slow, he teaches Spanish words to the librarian. Soon the harvest season is over and Tomás must say, "adiós." When Tomás leaves he takes with him many new stories in his mind as well as a shiny new book from the librarian.
Critical Analysis
Raul Colón's illustrations match the tone of the text, warm, safe, and inviting. His scratch technique emphasizes this as the markings are fluid and smooth giving dimension as well. The characters are dark haired except for the graying Papá Grande and the librarian. Large brown eyes stare out from the page in wonderment as Tomás thinks about what he is reading and when he is teaching Spanish words to the librarian. The clothing is typical to the late 1940's when this story takes place; Papá Grande has his white shirt buttoned up to his neck and the librarian has on a dress with a Peter Pan collar. The setting takes place in a small farming community. Tomás travels on foot between the fields where his parents are working to the library in town.
Tomás and his family are migrant Mexican farm workers. Mora describes the sleeping conditions when they arrive on the Iowa farm: "He curled up on the cot in the small house that his family shared with the other workers." In addition to the text, the illustration shows Tomás sleeping, probably in his underwear because his bare arm and chest are showing, with a patched blanket, in a seemingly bare room. Their car is described as a "rusty old car" which further conveys a feeling of poverty. When the boys played catch it was with a ball their mother had made from an old teddy bear, not a real ball. They did not stop to stay in a motel. Instead the family is traveling late into the night. Some days the family went to the town dump to look for pieces of iron to sell. The boys each looked for items of interest to them; toys for Enrique and books for Tomas. Mora writes, "He would put the books in the sun to bake away the smell." What a picture those words paint.
The grandfather does not work in the fields. He keeps an eye on the brothers and tells them stories while the others are working. I have several Hispanic friends who have their grandparents living with them and it is viewed as a natural part of their family life. A sense of family is strong within the Hispanic culture. In our lecture notes Nieto writes, "Latino children's literature has revolved around folklore, legends, riddles, games, poetry, and stories in the oral tradition, rather than on the childhood or adolescent experience as interpreted in the U.S. context" (Nieto, 1997). Papá Grande does just that, he tells stories orally. "Tomás liked to listen to Papá Grande tell stories in Spanish. Papá Grande was the best storyteller in the family." In our lecture notes Mora writes, "What we have inside of our homes and our families is a treasure chest that we don't pay attention to." Vardell goes on to add " She urges young people to preserve their heritage by tape-recording their family's stories and finding out about the cultural treasures in their homes. Mora also draws from her culture by using names such as Enrique, Mamá, Papá, Papá Grande, and Tomás. She mingles Spanish words along with the English text such as buenas noches (good night), En un tiempo pasado (Once upon a time), counting in Spanish, and libro (book) to name a few. The Spanish words are in italics which helps to set them apart from the English text.
The relationship between Tomás and the library lady builds as the story closes with Tomás teaching her the Spanish word for goodbye, "adiós" and later he gives her a small package containing pan dulce, a type of sweet bread baked by his mother, "My mother makes the best pan dulce in Texas." She reciprocates by giving him a present, his very own book. This made a tremendous impact on Tomás. Even though this is fiction, it is based on the early years of Tomás Rivera whose family were migrant workers and he was encouraged to read by a librarian in Iowa. Further research on this book led me to discover the name of the Iowa librarian; Miss Bertha Gaulke. (Horning, 2006). Her kindness and introduction to the books in the library did have an impact on Tomás but I think the stories from his grandfather was the foundation for young Tomás's love for books.
Horning, Kathleen T. "Incoming ALSC President's Message." Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for the Library Service to Children 4, no. 2 (2006): 6-11. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2053/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=22251332&site=ehost-live.
Reviews
"Mora's slice-of-life account tells of the son of migrant workers(inspired by the boyhood of Hispanic author and educator Tomás Rivera) whose horizons and linguistic skills are thrown wide open by the guidance of a friendly librarian. The hardships of migrant life and the dreams that books and learning provide are carefully delineated in both text and muted illustrations." - School Library Journal
"Spanish words slip in naturally and unobtrusively throughout Mora's text as she focuses on the snug library and the books that fire Tomás's imagination, and on his friendship with the librarian." - Publishers Weekly
Awards/Connections
1997 Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Commended Title
1997 Notable Books for Children Smithsonian
1998 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award'
1998 Teachers' Choices Award from the International Reading Association
1998 Skipping Stones Multicultural Book Award
1999-2000 Texas Bluebonnet Master List Title
1999-2000 Nebraska Golden Sower Nominee
THE LIBRARY DRAGON - written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Michael P. White
THE LIBRARY - written by Sarah Stewart and illustrated by David Smalls
LIBRARY LIL - written by Suzanne Williams and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
ARMAND AND THE BLUE TARP SCHOOL - written by Edith Hope Fine
and Judith Pinkerton Josephson and illustrated by Hernan Sosa
The following poem is from Pat Mora's website
http://www.patmora.com/book_pages/tomas.htm
Library Magic
"¡Vamos! Let's go to the library!"
Tomas said to his family.
He showed them his favorite books
and his cozy reading nooks.
"¡Vamos! Let's go to the library!"
Tomás said to his friends. "Hurry!"
They saw libros in stacks and rows.
They laughed at funny puppet shows.
"¡Vamos! Let's all go to the library!"
Join the fun, a treasure house that's free.
Bring your friends and family.
Stories, computers, maps and more,
facts, fun. Enter the magic door.
Like Tomás, open books and soar.
Be a reader. Explore galore.
In memory of the leader, educator and author, Tomás Rivera
© Pat Mora, 2005
Reprinted by permission.
All rights reserved.
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