Details
Synopsis
While helping his family in their work as migrant laborers far from their home, Tomâas finds an entire world to explore in the books at the local public library.
| Size | | Height: | 10.5 in | | Width: | 8.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.2 in | | Weight: | 12.0 oz |
Industry Reviews
Gr 2-4 Tom s 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 Tom s the greatest gift of all a book of his own to keep. Col?n's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tom s'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
Lopate
From the immigrant slums of New York City to the fields of California, it's an elemental American experience: the uprooted child who finds a home in the library. . . . ColGon's beautiful scratchboard illustrations, in his textured, glowingly colored, rhythmic style, capture the warmth and the dreams that the boy finds in the world of books. The pictures are upbeat; little stress is shown; even in the fields, the kids could be playing kick ball or listening to stories. Perhaps the most moving picture is that of the child outside the library door, his face pressed against the pane. In contrast is the peaceful space he finds inside, where he is free to imagine dinosaurs and wild adventure. . . . Ages four to eight.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Rochman
[There is a] benevolent, if caricatured, library lady (note the peter-pan collar and the glasses slipping down her nose). . . . ColGon's expressive illustrations done in scratchboard overwashed in sunlit rainbow colors impart a richness and texture that is not quite expressed in the more pedestrian text, although the pathos of migrant life is striking. What packs a powerful punch is the fact that this story is inspired by [a] real life story. . . . This is a warm and attractive tribute to the power of libraries and librarians, but it may be a bit too stodgy to evoke a response in young readers.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Rochman
ColGon's sensitive scratchboard illustrations beautifully capture TomGas's apprehensions as he stands in front of the library doors, as well as his fantasies from the world of books. So many of us from Hispanic America, including this reviewer, who did not enjoy the luxuries of school or public libraries in our countries of origin but had wonderfully loving grandparents, will identify with TomGas's story about librarians' kindnesses and a grandfather's stories.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Schon
Gr 2-4 Tom s 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 Tom s the greatest gift of all a book of his own to keep. Col¢n's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tom s'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
School Library Journal (10/01/1997)
Gr 2-4 Tom¿s 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 Tom¿s the greatest gift of all a book of his own to keep. Col¿n's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tom¿s'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
School Library Journal (10/01/1997)
Gr 2-4 Tom?s 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 Tom?s the greatest gift of all a book of his own to keep. Col?n's earthy, sun-warmed colors, textured with swirling lines, add life to this biographical fragment and help portray Tom?s'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
School Library Journal (10/01/1997)
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