Genre 1 - Picture Books
"Read one picture book written or illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Pat Mora, Betsy Lewin or Janet Wong."
Plot Summary
Estelita is a bilingual child whose parents only speak Spanish and whose teacher only speaks English. Her family is very different from all of their English speaking neighbors. For the class's May Day celebration, all of the girls must wear tulip costumes, but Estelita can not decide on just one color, so her costume is a rainbow tulip. At the May Day parade Estelita wishes her mother would be more like the other mothers, and worries about her own difference of wearing a rainbow tulip dress. When she talks with her mother after the school day, she expresses that she liked being the only rainbow tulip but that it was hard too, and the mother and daughter bond over a bowl of ice cream and being different.Critical Analysis
The soft pastel palette of Sayles illustrations make this story from Pat Mora's family history a soothing quiet journey into the challenges faced by Mexican Americans. While the originating story is from the 1920s, the telling in words and pictures here is a timeless portrait of being different and wanting so badly to fit in.The interspersing of Spanish phrases throughout the text reminds the reader in a very immediate way that our protagonist is bilingual and experiences these two different languages daily. It allows a non-bilingual child to have a snippet of what that experience would feel like.
Connections
- Could be combined with other books on the Mexican-American experience.
What Can You Do with a Paleta?
by Carmen Tafolla
Papa and Meby Arthur Dorros
- Could be paired with other books on being different.
It's Okay To Be Different
by Todd Parr
Those Shoesby Maribeth Boelts
- Could be used to introduce the concept of oral family history.
Awards/Reviews
From Library Journal:Mora succeeds in creating a quiet story to which children will respond. . .[T]his tale of family love and support crosses cultural boundaries and may remind youngsters of times when their families made all the difference. Pair this with Mary Hoffman's Amazing Grace (Dial, 1991), another story of an irrepressible child supported by a loving family.-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WAFrom Booklist:
There's not much story: when she goes to the May parade at school in a tulip costume of many colors, she worries that she looks different from everyone else, only to realize that it's fine to be different.--Hazel RochmanFrom Kirkus Reviews:
With warmth and directness, Mora celebrates diversity, but provides a balanced view of assimilation as well. Sayles's softly colored illustrations, by turns wistful and vibrant, capture the times and the tone as a young child finds her place in her parents' new country.
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