Tomas and the Library Lady

Every summer, Tomás and his family would travel from their home in Texas to the corn fields of Iowa, where his parents worked as farmhands. Sitting in the shade of a tree with their grandfather, Papá Grande, on the hot afternoons, Tomás and his brother Enrique would listen to his many wonderful stories. When Tomás completed one of those stories for him, Papá Grande suggested that it was time for him to find some of his own... at the local library. And so began a wonderful summer of discovery, in which a kind library lady pointed Tomás towards a wealth of informative and entertaining books, about everything from dinosaurs to tigers.

Based upon the life of Mexican-American poet and educator Tomás Rivera, the son of migrant show more farm-workers, who eventually became the chancellor of the University of California, Riverside, Tomás and the Library Lady is a lovely tribute to a remarkable man, and to the woman who first set him on his journey of discovery. It emphasizes the joy of reading - its transformative and transportive power - as young Tomás becomes so absorbed in his books that Iowa, Texas, the entire world, all fade away as he reads. I was reminded, in fact, of one of my favorite early readers - also about a library - Crosby Bonsall's Tell Me Some More..., and that is high praise! The accompanying artwork by Raul Colón is beautiful, accentuating the magical aspects of Tomás' reading. All in all, a wonderful picture-book, highly recommended to all young bibliophiles and library lovers! show less

I think what I appreciate most about about this simply wonderful picture book is how sensitive, caring and culturally aware the Library Lady is towards Tomas. She not only inspires his love of books, she is very much aware of his potential problems and requirements. The first time Tomas arrives at the library, the Library Lady gives him a cool glass of water to drink, and she actually signs out the library books for him in her own name. Not only does this show her sensitivities to the possible needs of migrant farm workers (lack of money, lack of owning a library card, that Tomas would probably be hot and thirsty after his long walk), the Library Lady trusts that Tomas will return the books that she has signed out in her own name (a show more less sympathetic and sensitive person might have had negative attitudes towards migrant farm workers and Latinos/Latinas, so this part of the story really touched me, and continues to touch me).

The Library Lady also shows interest in Tomas' mother tongue, asking Tomas to teach her some Spanish words. For her Spanish is a language, a beautiful language to be learned. Both she and Tomas respect each other's traditions, and the Library Lady never assumes that English and/or Anglo-American culture is in any way superior. A final wonderful touch is the fact that when Tomas brings his (probably uni-lingual) grandfather to the library, the Library Lady greets him respectfully in his own language. I love this story, and the illustrations accompanying the text are warm, enticing and really capture both the magic of books and the feelings and emotions of the characters.

Finally and for me, very importantly, I also I think that [b:Tomas and the Library Lady|1372657|Tomas and the Library Lady|Pat Mora|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183058122s/1372657.jpg|1362528] clearly demonstrates the responsibility and obligation that teachers, librarians and the like have or should have towards making the educational experience wonderful and rewarding for everyone. For if a librarian or a teacher act respectfully to a stranger, to a recent immigrant, to a member of a visible minority, this might very well cause others to imitate this behaviour (or to learn from this behaviour). Conversely, a bigoted teacher or librarian might also cause his/her students and others to imitate and accept bigotry. Tomas' Library Lady should be seen as a wonderful role model, of how strangers, members of visible minorities, immigrants should be approached, namely with respect, kindness, admiration and acceptance. show less

Another book that reconfirms that fact that librarian's rock.
The illustrations are gorgeous.
Although short in length Pat Mora lets the reader know quickly what kind of life Tomas and his family had, and how very precious; things we take for granted like water are. The librarian using her own card to let him check out books was so heartwarming.
"Tomas saw dinosaurs bending their long necks to lap shiny water.
He heard the cries of the wild snakebird. He felt the warm neck of the dinosaur as he held on tight for a ride."

To see where Tomas ended up made me very teary eyed, and it may not have happened had it not been for the kindness of that librarian.

7. Tomas and the Library Lady, by Pat Mora, illustrated by Raul Colon, and published in 2000 by Dragonfly Books, is a Biographic picture book about the late Tomas Rivera and how books changed his life. I thought this was a really good book with stunning visuals, a great message, and nice plot suspense. The illustrations actually start out very boring and simple. They come alive full of color and detail when Tomas opens his first book in the library. At this point a huge dinosaur takes over the page. The illustration is very detailed as I could make out the scales on the T-Rex’s body. The illustrator also carries this over to the next page but makes the images smaller as Tomas is finishing up the books. When he is done the vast images show more go away. But the illustrations stay vibrant and detailed. I liked the symbolism of the illustrations. That books can take you to far off places in your head and create great details in your head as well. The main theme and big idea in this book is that books can take you to other worlds in your head and can offer you an escape from the busy world that we live in. Tomas discovers that books can ease his pain when his immigrant family has to move from state to state to find work. Tomas gets so into the world of books that we see him spending more and more time in the library. One plot twist is when Tomas has to move. He has found a great library with great books and a great librarian. He is sad to leave but the librarian gives him some books and tells him that there are libraries all around with many stores. The biggest “plot twist” is at the end when I found out that this is a biographic on the real Tomas Rivera. This book was based on his life as a migrant worker who valued books and education. The postscript goes on to say that he obtained a PhD and has a library named after him. I thought that this was a great book that explored the topic of imagination through books. show less

I'm not going to lie, I only picked this book because of the title. However, it turns out to be a true gem. The book will make an excellent addition to any library for the multicultural aspect alone. However, having the Library Lady help Tomas in discovering new books and adventures through reading, truly shows the powerful impact libraries, reading, and teacher-librarians can have on young readers. Of course, the beautiful textured illustrations really bring the story to life.

A story from the childhood of Tomas Rivera is beautifully written and illustrated in this book. Tomas moves to Iowa from Texas and spends his days at the library, where a kind librarian helps him find books and becomes his friend. Tomas and the librarian form a partnership, reading and learning Spanish. The joy and power of literacy is felt from every character in the book.

This book is a lovely story about a boy who moved to a new place because his parents were migrant workers and wanted new stories, so he went to the library and made a friend: the library lady. Seeing his love for books and stories develop as she showed kindness and built relationship was really inspiring. The illustrations are beautiful and captivating, and there are a lot of places where Spanish phrases are used for bilingual students. It would be good for discussion about either literacy, libraries, or migrant workers and what their lives are like, especially in relation to education.