Tomás and the Library Lady

Mora, Pat. 1997. TOMAS AND THE LIBRARY LADY. Illustrated by Raul Colón. New York: Random House. ISBN 3-1551-06941-7884.

PLOT

Tomás and his family travel from Texas to Iowa to work in the fields. In place of a television set, the children listen to Papá Grande and his stories. It this Grandfather that encourages Tomás to find more stories at the local library. The librarian points Tomás, not only to piles of books, but also towards the love of reading.

ANALYSIS

A beautiful tale that validates the contribution of oral stories, focuses on the love a family shares by taking care of their aged members, sheds light on what life for a migrant family might be like, and portrays the American dream of working hard, receiving an education and becoming a productive citizen.

Mora educates us about migrant life as she relates, “The family picked fruit and vegetables for Texas farmers in the winder and for Iowa farmers in the summer.”
She tells of the unpleasant living conditions in which the family lived, “Tomás curled up on the cot in the small house that his family shared with other workers.”
Mora also does not sugar coat the reality of growing up poor. She tells of the days when the family visits the town dump to look for pieces of iron to sell. Each seeks for what they esteem: Tomás' younger brother looks for toys and Tomás looks for books.

An important theme in the story is love and respect for each other. While the storyteller of the family is Papá Grande, Tomás soon memorizes all of his tales. This is when Papá Grande tells him he can find more stories at the library. On Tomás’ trip back from the library, Papá Grande sees his books and asks Tomás to read to him in English. Soon the entire family comes near to hear Tomás tell the story. Ultimately, Tomás becomes the new storyteller as he reads to the family. The person that unlocks the magic of imagining what you read in books is the library lady. While we never learn her name, she invites Tomás in and encourages him to first drink water and then drink books at each visit. Tomás imagination soars! He hears cries of birds, roars of tigers, and feels the warmth of a dinosaur’s neck. What makes this story more memorable is a note at the end of the book . Mora tells us that Tomás Rivera was born in Crystal City and was a migrant worker who valued education. We read of his successes in life and learn of the library that bears his name. We understand this is the same Tomás in our story.
Pat Mora uses a variety of interlingual strategies . In some instances, she uses appositives, "He helped his grandfather, Papá Grande, climb down." In other instances, she allows the characters to begin in Spanish but moves into English. For example, Mora allows the reader to understand that Papá Grande tells his stories in Spanish. This is important, since it adds authenticity to the story. He begins, “En un tiempo pasado,” Mora then translates this beginning and continues his story in English.
Another example of the accurate use of the Spanish language is Mora’s use of accents. Adding to authenticity, is the manner in that Mora chooses to consistently refer to Tomás mother as Mamá throughout the book - When Tomás is speaking to her and when Mamá is being used as part of the narration. Mora does the same for Papá Grande.

Mora is also an excellent storyteller, vividly painting pictures with words. To explain just how hot, sweaty and thirsty Tomás feels during their long trip to Iowa, he states, “Mama, if I had a glass of cold water, I would drink it in large gulps. I would suck the ice. I would pour the last drops of water on my face.” One fully understands and practically feels the intense heat Tomás is feeling.
While Mora weaves a beautiful tale with words, Colón weaves a beautiful tale with illustrations. He uses warm hues to depict the characters. He captures the kindness of the librarian and the love shown on Papá Grande's face towards his grandson. We see the images Tomás invisions in his mind. We also see Tomás face of sheer delight as he is enamored with reading.

This eloquently told story would make a wonderful addition to a school’s or home’s library. I read this story in a basal book, but admit that until I understood that this was a reflection of Tomás Riveras’ life, did it actually move me. I admired the family’s buoyancy and rejoiced at Tomás Riveras’ success. This happens to be one of the books that my students will gladly read over and over and over again.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

"From the immigrant slums of New York to the fields of California, it’s 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 Tomás Rivera, the son of migrant workers who became an education leader and university president." - From Booklist

"This inspiring story is based on the true life of Tomas Rivera, a migrant farm worker who became a writer, professor, and university administrator. He was chancellor of the University of California at Riverside before his death in 1984. Raul Colón uses beautifully muted colors to illustrate Tomas' wonderful imagination. A heartwarming story for children from all backgrounds." -From Children’s Literature

CONNECTIONS

A wonderful activity that would incorporate family members would be a traveling journal. Students would take their traveling journal to conduct interviews of relatives. The goal would be to return with a story about the family told by a relative.

For the younger children, a tape recorder could be used to record the story.

Websites to visit:

http://www.patmora.com/

http://www.patmora.com/book_pages/tomas.htm

Bud, Not Buddy

Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1999. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Delacorte. ISBN 978-0385323062.

Plot Summary
In this Newberry and Corretta Scott King award winning tale we meet Bud - not Buddy. The tale is set in Depression Era Michigan and told by ten year old Bud Caldwell. An orphan from the age of six, Bud has lived in his share of foster homes. In the final foster home, he flees after he realizes staying could be a detriment. His hope lies in the one flier carried in his briefcase that may hold the key to finding his father.

Analysis
With the first sentence of the book: Here we go again, I was captivated! I immediately asked, “What happened in the past? Were the character’s past experiences horrid? Christopher Paul Curtis does a superb job of painting a vivid picture of the Depression, and all the while presenting a captivating storyline with enduring, yet hilarious characters.
Curtis educates the reader as he describes numerous icons of the Depression: soup lines, redcaps, labor organizers, unions, and Hoovervilles. Curtis describes the breakfast lines at a mission in the following way:

The only sound you could hear was when someone scraped a spoon across the bottom
of their bowl.

Another gripping description is of a Hooverville. One of the residents of Hooverville states,

“All these people..are just like you, they are tired, hungry and a little
bit nervous about tomorrow.”

To provide a balance of the harsh reality of the Depression, Curtis presents us with humorous and enduring characters that I saw as Bud's guardians, such as the librarian or Mr. Lefty that picked Bud off the side of the road . Bud possesses a fantastic imagination and incredible buoyancy in spite of the difficult hand life has given him. He is the creator of Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things to Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself. My favorite is Rule # 83:

If adults tell you not worry, and you weren’t worried before, you better hurry
up and start ‘cause you’re already running late.

One of the first phrases my students found amusing was, “I was on the lam.” They stated that was how they knew this book was from the past. The book made a fantastic read aloud! In spite of presenting the hard facts about the Depression, the book leaves us with hope and reminds us that perseverance will ultimately be rewarded. In a Afterward presented by Curtis we learn of the inspiration for this book and are encouraged to:

Go talk to Grandma and Grandpa…By keeping their stories alive, you make them and
yourself, immortal.

This is a beautiful book and one I intend to share with my children and my children’s children.

Reviews
"While the harshness of Bud's circumstances are authentically depicted, Curtis imbues them with an aura of hope, and he makes readers laugh even when he sets up the most daunting scenarios," - From Publishers Weekly

"Curtis says in an afterword that some of the characters are based on real people, including his own grandfathers, so it's not surprising that the rich blend of tall tale, slapstick, sorrow, and sweetness has the wry, teasing warmth of family folklore. "- From Booklist

Connections
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from the Children of the Great Depression by Robert Cohen
Other books by Christopher Paul Curtis:
The Watson go to Birmingham-1963
Bud, not Buddy was also released in Spanish.


Bud had a great collection going: Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. Students could be encouraged to add their own rules to Bud's list or use his rules as journal response starters.