Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora, Raul Colon (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

"A gentle text and innovative artwork depict a pivotal summer in a boy's life when he and his family leave their Texas home for farm work in Iowa. One morning, while his parents pick corn, Tomás visits the imposing town library and meets a kindly librarian who gently coaxes him inside. Throughout the hot days thereafter, she offers Tomás cool drinks of water and adventurous escapes into books; on slow days he teaches her Spanish until it's time to return home to Texas: 'I have a sad word to teach you today. The word is adiós. It means good-bye.' . . . While young readers and future librarians will find this an inspiring tale, the end note gives it a real kick: the story is based on an actual migrant worker [Tomás Rivera] who became chancellor of a university--where the library now bears his name."--Publishers Weekly

Children's Literature

Tomas and his migrant family must work hard and travel frequently, but thanks to a kind librarian, Tomas becomes acquainted with a whole new world through books-and receives a special gift from her when he must move on. Inspired by the life of Tomas Rivera, who became chancellor of the University of California at Riverside.

Children's Literature

Tomßs and his family are migrant farm workers who travel from Texas to Iowa picking fruits and vegetables. Tomßs and his brother, Enrique, listen to their Papß Grande tell stories in the hot afternoons. Soon Tomßs knows all the stories, so Papß Grande suggests that Tomßs go to the library to learn more stories to tell the family. At first, Tomßs is intimidated by the large library, but the friendly librarian coaxes him in with the promise of a cool drink of water. She helps him discover all sorts of books, and Tomßs spends his summer afternoons in the library engrossed by the wonderful stories. He takes the books home and reads them to his family in the evenings. This inspiring story is based on the true life of Tomßs 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 Col=n uses beautifully muted colors to illustrate Tomas' wonderful imagination. A heartwarming story for children from all backgrounds.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4Toms Rivera, who at his death in 1984 was the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, grew up in a migrant family. Here, Mora tells the fictionalized story of one summer in his childhood during which his love of books and reading is fostered by a librarian in Iowa, who takes him under her wing while his family works the harvest. She introduces him to stories about dinosaurs, horses, and American Indians and allows him to take books home where he shares them with his parents, grandfather, and brother. When it is time for the family to return to Texas, she gives Toms the greatest gift of alla book of his own to keep. Coln's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Toms's reading adventures in appealing ways. Stack this up with Sarah Stewart and David Small's The Library (Farrar, 1995) and Suzanne Williams and Steven Kellogg's Library Lil (Dial, 1997) to demonstrate the impact librarians can have on youngsters.Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

Kirkus Reviews

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. Tomás Rivera, child of migrant laborers, picks crops in Iowa in the summer and Texas in the winter, traveling from place to place in a worn old car. When he is not helping in the fields, Tomás likes to hear Papa Grande's stories, which he knows by heart. Papa Grande sends him to the library downtown for new stories, but Tomás finds the building intimidating. The librarian welcomes him, inviting him in for a cool drink of water and a book. Tomás reads until the library closes, and leaves with books checked out on the librarian's own card. For the rest of the summer, he shares books and stories with his family, and teaches the librarian some Spanish. At the end of the season, there are big hugs and a gift exchange: sweet bread from Tomás's mother and a shiny new book from the librarianto keep. Colón's dreamy illustrations capture the brief friendship and its life-altering effects in soft earth tones, using round sculptured shapes that often depict the boy right in the middle of whatever story realm he's entered.

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