Module 10: Tomas and the Library Lady

Book Summary

Tomas and his family are migrant workers that travel from Texas to Iowa for work on farms. In the summer, his family goes to Iowa. Tomas likes to sit under the tree with his grandpa and listen to his stories. While in Iowa, Tomas visits the library. He falls in love and visits the library every day. He reads stories and improves his English, with the help of the special librarian. He is taken to faraway lands and adventures through reading. He goes home and shares with his grandpa the stories he reads. When it is time to return to Texas, he takes his grandpa to visit the library and librarian one last time. The librarian speaks the Spanish she has learned from Tomas and gives him a book to take with him. He reads it to his grandpa on their trip back to Texas. 

APA Reference of the Book
Mora, Pat. (1997). Tomas and the library lady. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Impression
This book has always been popular with my colleagues, but until this week, I had never read it. I really enjoyed the way it presented the worlds that can be opened up to you from reading. The illustrations were realistic, but also brought a bit of fantasy that worked perfectly with the story. It shows how important reading and education can be for your future success. Tomas Rivera became a very important figure in the Latino community and this book shows how important education is to this. It is not preachy or seems like it is teaching a lesson. It is just a charming story about a young boy, his grandfather, and a librarian. 

Professional Review

Pat Mora's Tomas and the Library Lady (Illus. by Raul Colon. Random House, 1997) is based on a true incident that happened in the young life of Tomas Rivera, famous writer, educational leader, and university president at the University of California at Riverside. Tomas, the son of migrant farm workers, goes to a public library in Iowa in search of more stories like Papa Grande tells. Until Tomas must return to Texas at the end of the summer, his love for stories and books is nurtured by "the library lady."

Two other books that depict this special love for the library and reading are Patricia McKissack's Goin' Someplace Special (Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Atheneum, 2001) and William Miller's Richard Wright and the Library Card (Illus. by Gregory Christie. Lee & Low Books, 1999). Goin' Someplace Special is the story of Tricia Ann, a young African American girl in the 1950's segregated South who is on her way to one place where all are welcome-the public library Richard Wright and the Library Card is a fictionalized account of an event from the autobiography of well-known African American writer of Black Boy and Native Son. Wright grew up in the South in the 1920s and, though he couldn't obtain a library card of his own in Memphis, he borrowed one from a white man and used it under the pretense of checking out books for the man.

Brodie, C. S. (2003). Connect the book: Tomas and the library lady. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 19(9), 48-48,51. 

Library Uses
This book, in my opinion, should be included in any study on Hispanic or Latino history study. Additionally, I think it is a perfect mentor text for writing personal narrative and would share it with teachers looking for authentic literature to use in their writing workshop. The Zach Scott Theater in Austin is running a production of this in early 2016 and it would make a great field trip to take students on to watch the play.