CHANDLER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SUGGESTED RESOURCE GUIDE FOR REQUIRED TEXTS
EXTENDED TEXT: Title: Tomás and the Library Lady
GRADE LEVEL:
Author: Pat Mora
ISBN: 0-329-28684-6
Kindergarten (Read Aloud)
SYNOPSIS:
Tomás is a son of migrant workers. Every summer he and his family follow the crops north from Texas to Iowa, spending arduous
days in the fields. At night they gather around to hear Grandfather’s wonderful stories. But before long, Tomás knows all the
stories by heart. His grandfather says to Tomás, “There are more stories in the library.” The very next day, Tomás meets the
library lady and a whole new world opens up for him.
Based on the true story of the Mexican-American author and educator Tomás Rivera, a child of migrant workers who went on to
become the first minority Chancellor in the University of California system, this inspirational story suggests what libraries—and
education—can make possible. Raul Colon’s warm, expressive paintings perfectly interweave the harsh realities of Tomás’ life,
the joyful imaginings he finds in books, and his special relationships with a wise grandfather and a caring librarian.
(http://www.patmora.com/books/Tomás-and-the-library-lady/)
Publishers Weekly synopsis: “A gentle text and innovative artwork depict a pivotal summer in a boy’s life. Spanish words slip in
naturally and unobtrusively throughout Mora’s text as she focuses on the snug library and the books that fire Tomás’ imagination,
and on his friendship with the librarian. While young readers and future librarians will find this an inspiring tale, the endnote gives
it a real kick; the story is based on an actual migrant worker who became chancellor of a university – where the library now bears
his name.”
Booklist synopsis: “From the immigrant slums of New York to the fields of California, it’s an elemental American experience: the
uprooted child who finds a home in the library. Mora’s story is based on a true incident in the life of the famous writer Tomás
Rivera, the son of migrant workers who became an education leader and university president.” Hazel Rochman
Smithsonian synopsis: “One summer in 1940s Iowa, a librarian welcomed a migrant worker child who found the wider world –
and his future – in books. This powerful story is based on the boyhood of Tomás Rivera, who would grow to become Chancellor
of the University of California, Riverside.”
BACKGROUND :
From Pat Mora’s Website -- Pat Mora says she feels “very fortunate” that she grew up in El Paso, Texas, in a bilingual home.
Mora very often works Spanish words into her English stories, because she wants readers to remember that people speak many
language the world over. “Quien habla dos lenguas, vale por dos,” she says. (“If you speak two language, your value is
doubled.”) She spread enthusiasm for languages and for reading by helping people all across the country celebrate April 30 each
year as Dia de los Ninos, Dia de los Libros (Children’s Day, Book Day).
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Tomás and the Library Lady was Pat Mora’s first children’s book to be accepted for publication in 1989. However, it didn’t actually
get published until 1997. Why did it take so long? The book’s illustrations slowed down the publication process. Raul Colon, the
illustrator of the finished book, was actually the third illustrator to work on the book!
Mora met the main character, Tomás Rivera, when she as an administrator at the University of Texas at El Paso. She described
him as very intelligent, hard-working, and an avid reader. She said he had “a big smile and a wonderful sense of humor.” When
he was the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside (CA), she visited him. When asked in an interview how she and
Tomás were alike, she responded, “We both loved to read and both liked doing well at school. We both went to college and
became teachers. We both were parents and became university administrators. We both became writers and wanted our readers
to know about the lives and dreams of Mexican Americans. We both felt lucky to be bilingual and wanted all people who are
bilingual to be proud of their home languages.” (http://www.patmora.com/book_pages/Tomás.htm,
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/mora.htm/?grade=4). In the same interview when asked her purpose in writing the story,
Mora responded, “I was sad when Tomás died because I though he was such a special man and leader. I wanted to honor him,
and I decided to write a children’s book about him so that children, teachers, librarians and parents would know the story of Dr.
Tomás Rivera who was a writer and educator. I also wanted readers to think about the difficult life migrant workers have and how
families and librarians help children succeed. I’m always surprised when even after having read Tomás and the Library Lady
students can’t tell me what a migrant worker is.”
Interdisciplinary connection: Social Studies
LINKS
http://www.patmora.com/books/Tomás-and-the-library-lady/: Video of Pat Mora talking about Tomás; interview with wonderful,
extensive information about the book, its characters and her motivations for writing; suggested activities; links to other books
written by Mora. Find Pat’s poem “Library Magic”.
TEXT COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS:
This book is listed on the Common Core State Standards Appendix B exemplar list for Read Aloud in the K-1 grade band.
Quantitative: 440L (Scholastic Book Wizard) Grade Level Equivalent 3.5 (Scholastic Book Wizard). The 2-3 grade band
begins at 420L.
Qualitative: According to the Kansas Qualitative Measure of Rubric for Literacy Text, there is middle-high complexity in the
meaning of this book. The issue of migrant workers and their families is presented through the eyes of a young boy, making this
complex concept reachable for kindergarten through third grade students. However, scaffolding of this concept will most likely be
necessary prior to its initial reading. The structure of the story is middle-low because its narrative structures of is more explicit
than implicit, there are few shifts in point of view and there are no major shifts in time. The language of the story is middle-low,
however, individual vocabulary (e.g., migrants) will need to be discussed and defined. The illustrations greatly aid the students
understanding of the language in the text. Spanish words are scattered throughout, but through careful reading the students
should not have difficulty accessing the meanings of these phrases. As for knowledge demands, for kindergarteners, this would
be middle-high because most will not have the experience of migrant families’ lives.
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Reader and Task: This book is a read aloud. In considering the reader and task as outlined on the Kansas list, the teacher
will need to provide guidance, scaffolding and clarification to help the students attend to the text, critically analyze the relationships
between various parts of the text and help students develop the attention, memory, and critical/analytical thinking skills. In
addition, teachers will need to provide guidance to assist the students in “reading between the lines” to make
connections/inferences among less explicit elements in the text, develop visualization skills (illustrations will help this) and
questioning skills to assist in their comprehension of the text. As noted on various websites, the interest level of the text is
considered high for students in kindergarten through 3rd grades. As previously stated, the teacher will need to provide and build
on the students’ prior knowledge and experience. For many, this may be their first introduction to migrants and their families’
lives. There is not any content or theme that might make students, teacher, parents or administrators feel uncomfortable.
MOTIFS AND THEMES:
Moving, bilingualism, reading, friendship, grandparents, family roles, imagination/visualization
Reading skills: prediction, inference, character traits, envisioning, monitoring for meaning/checking for comprehension, especially
with ELL and SPED students
LANGUAGE:
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Tier 2 Vocabulary
Tier 3 Vocabulary
 midnight (p.1)
 Texas (p. 1)
 cot (p. 3)
 Iowa (p. 2)
 howled (p. 7)
 Papa Grande (p. 3)
 chattered (p.7)
 Spanish (p.7)
 thorny (p. 7)
 Various phrases in Spanish
 downtown (p. 8)
 Farm workers (2)
 eager (p.15)
 Snakebird (p. 12)
 town dump (p. 17)
 Iron (p. 17)
Concept Words: migrant workers, seasonal jobs, bilingual, home languages, multicultural, relatives, ancestors
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Conventions of Standard English or Knowledge of Language focus standard:
Standard
Code
K.L.1d, f
K.L.5b
Description of where and how it fits with the extended text
Standard Text
Demonstrate command of
conventions of standard
English grammar and usage
when writing or speaking.
d. Understand and use
question words
(interrogatives) (e.g., who,
what, where, when, why,
how)
f. Produce and expand
complete sentences in shared
language activities.
With guidance and support
from adults, explore word
relationships and nuances in
word meanings.
b. Demonstrate
understanding of frequently
occurring verbs and
adjectives by relating them to
their opposites (antonyms).
d. Encourage students to listen for questions and their answers
in the text (e.g., page 7: “And who do you think was holding
him?” page 10: “What’s your name?” & “What would you like to
read about?” page 16: “Tomás, would you like to borrow two
library books?”
Ask text dependent questions (e.g., “What time of the year is it
when the story begins?” (for ELL and SPED SLI provide closed
set of winter, summer, spring or fall) How do you know? See
below for more.
f. Encourage students to retell parts of the story and retell their
favorite stories (oral ones) to each other as Tomás does for his
family.
Verbs: followed, picked, bump-bumped, drink, carried, grabbed
& others
Adjectives: tired, old (car); cold (water); small (house); hot; windy
(night); thorny (tree; and others.
COMPANION TEXTS:
1-3 Short Informational Texts
Text Title and
Author
A short description of the text
and how it relates to the extended text
Label Difficulty:
 Advanced
 Grade Level
 Meant for Scaffolding
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Thank you, Mr.
Falker by Patricia
Polacco
In this autobiographical story, Little Trisha, overjoyed at the thought of
learning how to read, struggles when she finds that all the letters and
numbers get jumbled up. Her classmates make matters worse by calling her
dummy. Finally, in fifth grade, she is lucky enough to have a teacher who
recognizes Trisha's incredible artistic ability, understands her problem, and
takes the time to lead her to the magic of reading. Although dyslexia is never
mentioned in the book, this story will provide great reassurance to children
who struggle to overcome learning disabilities.
G.E.: 4.8
1-3 Short Literary Texts
Label Difficulty:
 Advanced
 Grade Level
 Meant for Scaffolding
1. G.E.: 3.1
Text Title and
Author
A short description of the text
and how it relates to the extended text
1. More Than
Anything Else
by Marie
Bradby
1. This is a fictionalized story about the life of young Booker T.
Washington. Living in a West Virginia settlement after
emancipation, nine-year-old Booker travels by lantern light to the
salt works, where he labors from dawn till dusk. Although his
stomach rumbles, his real hunger is his intense desire to learn to
read.
2. G.E.: 4.3
2. Amber's mountain is beautiful, but it is a lonely place -- until the
day Anna arrives, bringing both her friendship and the will to teach
Amber how to read. Suddenly, Amber's world is filled with a new
magic -- and new challenges. But when Anna returns to the city, will
Amber be able to keep reading on her own?
-- "Heartwarming". -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
2. Amber on the
Mountain by
Tony Johnston
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STANDARDS-BASED ACTIVITIES:
These activities will assist in the instruction of the extended text.
ACTIVITY #1 READ ALOUD (a minimum of three days – Each new day have the students retell parts of the story to a partner
and then using the illustrations have the students retell the story as a whole group.)
RESOURCES:
 Map of the United States
 Transportation chart
 Sticky notes
 Markers/Dry erase
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. (K.RL.1)
 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. (K.RL.3)
 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what
moment in a story an illustration depicts.) (K.RL.7)
 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. (K.RL.4)
 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details. (K.RL.2)
DESCRIPTION:
1. Using the map of the United States, ask the children if they know in which state we live. Mark this state (AZ) with a sticky
note.
2. Ask, Who has traveled in a plane? (tally marks on a chart/use later for a math activity) Where did you go? Mark
different destinations with sticky notes and names of cities. Why did you travel/go to name of city? (vacation, moved,
visit Grandma, etc.)
3. Ask, Who has traveled by car? (tally marks) Repeat 2nd question in #2 and add more sticky notes to the map as
required.
4. Ask, Who has traveled by train? (tally marks) Repeat 2nd question in #2 and add more sticky notes to the map as
required.
5. Ask, Who has traveled by bus? (tally marks) Repeat 2nd question in #2 and add more sticky notes to the map as
required.
6. Say, Today, we will read a story about a boy and his family who traveled every year. He traveled from Texas to
Iowa. Listen to the name of the first state and tell me what sound you hear. Texas. /t/ You’re right. Texas starts
with the sound /t/. Who knows the letter that makes the /t/ sound? T. You’re right. Can anyone find a state that
starts with the letter T? Mark these. Read each one to students and ask them to tell you how many syllables they hear.
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Place a sticky note with a “house” on it in Texas. Repeat same questions for identifying the state of Iowa. Mark Iowa with
a blank sticky note (you will draw in a fruit/vegetable when students hear this information from the text) . Using a
marker/dry erase draw a line from Texas to Iowa. Ask the students, How do you think the main character, Tomás, and
his family traveled from Texas to Iowa? Car, plane, bus, or train?
Text Teacher Says
Page As you listen to the story, raise your hand when you know how
1 & 2 Tomás and his family traveled from his home in Texas to Iowa.
How do you know how Tomás and his family traveled by car?
What does the narrator mean when she describes the car as “tired”
and “old?”
Let’s listen again about how Tomás is feeling. Tell your partner
how Tomás is feeling.
Students’ responses
By car
The picture/illustration; because it says
so
One student shares with the class
For his mom’s and dad’s job
Page Now listen to understand why Tomás and his family were going to
3
Iowa.
Introduce the vocabulary word “migrant worker.”
Encourage students to make an inference about why Tomás wanted cold
water, why he would drink it in large gulps, suck the ice and pour the last He’s really hot.
drops on his face.
Ask them to think of a time when they felt this way.
In the summer when …
Page Read page 4 and ask the students if they hear any words they do not
Yes.
4
understand.
Ask them if they know these words. Discuss different languages and
whether any of the children or their parents/grandparents speak a
different language.
Repeat “Buenas noches” and tell them it means good night (or have
them try to deduce this from the text). Ask the students to repeat this
Buenas noches.
too. Do the same with Papá Grande/Grandfather.
Papá Grande
Continue to read 1-2 pages and scaffold new information for students. Encourage inferencing and predicting.
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ACTIVITY #2 RETELLING THE STORY WITH SEQUENCE STRIPS
RESOURCES:
 Sentence Strips
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. (K.RL.1)
 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details. (K.RL.2)
DESCRIPTION:
1. Say, Today we will retell what happened in the story Tomás and the Library Lady. Together we will write down all
the events we can remember without using the book. First, turn to your partner and together tell as many parts of
the story as you can.
2. Say, Now, let’s write down the parts together. We won’t worry if we write them down in the correct order. We’ll
sequence them after we have all our ideas recorded. (Teacher will help students identify the beginning sounds and
segment the words as the students share their ideas. These will be written on sentence strips. Teacher will prompt
students to say when the first letter is capitalized (beginning word of sentence and for proper nouns) and prompt for ending
punctuation.
3. Say, Now let’s look at all of our sentences. We’ll place these in order by putting them under these different
categories. Let’s read these together. Add sequence words such as, in the beginning of the story, then, next, after that,
at the end of the story.
4. Say, These words are called transition words. These words will help us sequence our sentences in the correct
order. If we need more transition words, we will add them. Let’s read them one more time.
5. Say, Great! Now let’s read the sentences we wrote together and place these in the correct order. If we’re unsure
of which happened first, we’ll look at the book after we’ve tried our best to remember the correct sequence. What
happened first in the story? Students, with prompting and support, will read the sentences with their teacher. Ask
individual students to place the sentence strips in the correct order.
6. Say, Now let’s use the book to check the sequence of our sentences. Use the text and pictures to do this. Ask the
students to change/correct the sentence strips as appropriate. Have the students read with you.
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ACTIVITY #3 CREATING CLASSROOM BOOKS
RESOURCES:
 Sentence Strips from Activity 2
 Handwriting/Drawing Paper
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. (K.RL.3)
 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details. (K.RL.2)
 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the
events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. (K.W.3)
DESCRIPTION:
1. Say, Let’s reread our summary of the story Tomás and the Library Lady. Read the sentence strips from Activity 2.
2. Say, Today, we will work together in groups of five. Plan to have a table group for each sentence strip. Arrange the
groups with varying ability and language levels.) Each student in your group will create a page for your book. Let’s
brainstorm ideas for what you could draw to illustrate each sentence. Students read each sentence together and
brainstorm illustration ideas. The text may be used to facilitate this discussion.
3. Say, Each of you will copy one of the five sentences onto a page, and then you will illustrate your page.
Remember to use your best handwriting. Children will write the sentence on the bottom of a page and then illustrate the
top.
4. After students complete their group books, they will each practice reading their pages. Then each group will read their
books to an adult (librarian, principal, secretary, cafeteria worker, etc.) on campus.
WRITING PROMPTS:
At this level writing is a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing.
Opinion Prompts:
o Review the illustrations of the times that Tomás was reading and used his imagination (dinosaurs, tiger, riding the
horse). Which picture of Tomás using his imagination did you like the best? Tell why you liked it.
o Review the ways that Papá Grande and the Library Lady helped Tomás. Which person helped Tomás the most,
Papá Grande or the Library Lady? Tell why you think that person helped him the most.
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Informational/Explanatory Prompts:
o Write about your school library. Brainstorm ideas for what they can put in their writing. (e.g., describe what it looks
like, tell who works there, tell about activities you do at the library.)
o Use the information from the book to explain what a farm worker does. These workers are also called migrant
workers.
Narrative Prompts:
o Write about a trip you have taken with your family.
o Who is an important person in your life? What are the ways in which you show them that you care about them? What
are three new things you could do to make them happy in the next week or two?
Research Prompts:
o Research working on a farm, things grown on a farm, or other aspects of farm life.
o Research the life of Dr. Tomás Rivera, the person on whom this book is based.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
These resources were enveloped by Martha Kateri Ferede, Ed.M., 2006, for the Family Involvement Storybook Corner on the
Harvard Family Research Project website
http://www.hfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/teacher_guide2.pdf
Video of Tomás and the Library Lady being read. Includes the pictures.
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=9470
The following resources are from the Basal Alignment Project from the HmH Reading Medallion 4th grade textbook.
Text Dependent Questions
What time of year is it when the story begins? How do
you know?
Describe how the author introduces the reader to
Tomás. Who is telling the story?
Answers
It is summer. We know because the family is in the car traveling
to Iowa and it is hot. The family works for farmers in Texas in
the winter and for Iowa farmers in the summer “year after year”.
The family is in the car in the middle of the night traveling from
Texas to Iowa to farm for the summer “again”. Tomás misses
his bed at home and tells his mother he is hot by saying, “if I had
a glass of cold water…I would pour the last drops of water on
my face.” He helps his grandfather out of the car, bids his family
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Why are the words, “Buenas noches” in a different
font? How do you know what these words mean?
Thorny means having sharp points along the stem of
a plant. Why did Papá Grande laugh when Tomás
answered his question with, “A thorny tree” when he
was telling his story?
How does Tomás feel as he approaches the library?
What words and phrases does the author use to show
you? How does the illustration help the reader?
In your own words, describe what happened during
Tomás’ first visit to the library.
What did it mean when the librarian said, “I will check
them out in my name.”?
Tomás left the library, “eager to show the new stories
to his family.” How do you know what eager means?
How is “eager” different than “excitement”?
members “Buenas noches” and “curls up on the cot” to sleep.
The story is told by a third person narrator. The evidence is the
use of the pronouns he, they, and his.
These words are spoken by Tomás in Spanish. The author
follows these words with the English translation – “Good night”.
Papá Grande laughed because Tomás knew the ending of the
story. Tomás had said, “Tell us the story about the man in the
forest.” He also knew the character in the story was held by a
“thorny tree” and had scared himself. We can infer he has heard
this story many times.
Tomás is intimidated by the “big library” with its windows “like
eyes glaring at him.” “He walked around and around…” “He
slowly started climbing up, up the steps.” “His mouth felt full of
cotton.” “He peeked in” to the “huge” library! The illustration
shows just how small Tomás is as he “peeked in.”He jumped
when the librarian tapped his shoulder.
The librarian welcomed Tomás to “come inside” and gave him a
drink of water. She asked his name and brought him books
about “tigers and dinosaurs.” She gave him a chair, let him read,
and sent him home with books.
Students will know that to check out a book means to be able to
take it with you – to borrow it. Because Tomás has never been
to the library before, the reader has to infer that he cannot
borrow books because he does not have a card or account. The
librarian is being kind when she “checks the books out” and lets
him take them. She trusts him.
Eager means he is excited in a hurry and to show his family. He
wants to do it and is looking forward to it. He “ran home” to show
the books to his family and he reads them the story that day.
Eager is different than excitement because at the root of his
excitement, or stirred up feelings, is the yearning, this desire to
read to the family from his new books.
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What does, “He would put the books in the sun to
bake away the smell mean”? Why use these words?
What evidence in the story shows that Tomás is a
good storyteller?
What happens to Tomás when he reads to himself?
How do the illustrations support this understanding?
Compare how Tomás feels at the beginning and the
end of the story. How does the author conclude the
tale?
Tomás found the books at the dump so they smell bad from the
garbage. By “baking” them in the hot sun, the smell is
diminished. “Baking” reinforces how hot the summer sun is in
Iowa and helps us understand why Tomás is glad to be inside
with cool water to drink when he is in the library.
Tomás shows the pictures and reads to Papá Grande “first in
Spanish and then in English.” He roars, “like a huge tiger” as he
reads. The family laughed and “sat near him to hear his story.”
On quiet days in the library, the librarian would say, “Come to
my desk and read to me.” Now in the evenings, “he would read
the stories to …” The illustrations show the big tiger in the room
when Tomás is reading to the family.
When Tomás reads, he looks at the pictures, reads and feels
like he is in the stories. “He saw dinosaurs bending their long
necks, he heard the cries of a wild snakebird, he felt the
warm…he smelled the smoke…he rode a horse…” “He forgot
about Iowa and Texas.”
At the beginning of the story, Tomás is very hot and tired. He
misses his bed. He tells his mom how thirsty he is with the story
about the cold water. When the story concludes, Tomás is
holding a “shiny new book.” He closes his eyes and “saw the
dinosaurs.. heard the cry… felt the warm neck…” He is
comforted by the story.
Culminating Tasks

Re-Read, Think, Discuss, Write
1. How does the author show that Tomás is a “storyteller” throughout the narrative? Use examples from the story to support your
answer. When the story begins, Tomás uses the little story “if I had a glass of cold water… I would pour the drops of water on my
face.” When he reads to the family, he shows the pictures and he makes them laugh. At the end of the story, Tomás is in the car,
feeling like he is in the story with “the cry of the wild snakebird…”
2. The three central characters in the story all change this summer. Describe how Tomás, Papa Grande and the librarian are
“changed” over the summer by interactions in the story. Tomás visited the library for the first time, then “whenever he could,”
learned new stories from the books at the library, and assumed the role of “new storyteller” for the family. Papá Grande listened to
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new stories in English and the library lady learned Spanish words and phrases, “Buenas tardes”, “pajaro”, and “libro.” She also
learned about “pan dulce” or sweetbread that Tomás’ mother sends to thank her. Tomás and the library lady have both made a
new friend.
3. Choose one or two words or phrases that describe both the library lady and Tomás. Using evidence from the text, justify your
choice of words. Students may choose kind, eager to learn, polite, helpful, encouraging. Accept answers justified with examples
from the story.
4. The author uses repetition in the story. For example, in the first paragraph, “the tired old car. Tomás was tired too. Hot and
tired.” Find examples in the text where words are repeated and describe how that affects the meaning. The author repeats tired to
emphasize how Tomás feels at the beginning of the story. The family “year after year bump-bumped along in their rusty old car”
shows how tiring and uncomfortable this trip is for the family. When going to the library Tomás climbed slowly “up, up the steps.”
This again, showed his feelings about going to the library for the first time. At the end of the story, the library lady says, “How nice.
How very nice. Gracias, Tomás. Thank you.” This shows how she really feels grateful for the gift of the pan dulce.
Additional Tasks
Characters in the story are learning to use English as well as Spanish language. What are some of the words and phrases the
author introduces in the story? How does she reveal the meaning of the words? Use the online dictionary at http://www.forvo.com
or http://www.wordreference.com / to find the correct pronunciation of the words and phrases. Create a short dictionary of the
words included in the text.
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