As migrant workers, Tomás and his family
follow the harvests from Texas to Iowa each summer. Their long days are filled
with dry, hot work; their evenings are cheered by Papá Grande’s storytelling.
One day, when Tomás already seems to know all of his grandfather’s stories,
Papá Grande encourages Tomás to walk downtown to the public library. Uncertain
about entering the huge building, Tomás is invited through the door by a lady
who shows him a drinking fountain, a chair to sit in and books to look through.
She even lets him take books home to share with his family, having signed them
out to herself. Tomás visits the library all summer, reading good books (so
many fascinating books!) and even teaching the library lady some words in
Spanish. When it’s time to return to Texas, Tomás must say adiós
to the library and the wonderful, welcoming librarian. He and his grandfather
take her some pan dulce in thanks, and in return she gives Tomás a hug
and a new book to keep. An endnote tells us this story was inspired by the life
of Texas-born Tomás Rivera, a migrant worker who, encouraged to read by a
librarian in Iowa, valued education and became a professor, then chancellor, at
the University of California at Riverside where the library now carries his
name. Raul Colón's artwork accords perfectly with author Pat Mora’s inspiring Tomás
and the Library Lady, together expressing just what libraries make
possible. Ages 4-8.
