Review of DONA FLOR

Mora, Pat. 2005. DONA FLOR: A TALL TALE ABOUT A GIANT WOMAN WITH A GREAT BIG HEART. Illustrated by Raul Colon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0375823379.

PLOT SUMMARY
In this original folktale, Pat Mora and Raul Colon have created an engaging story of a gentle giant that loves people, animals, and plants. In her small pueblo, Dona Flor is greatly respected for the assistance and kindness she gives her neighbors. One day, everyone’s peace is disturbed by the roar of a giant puma. Since her small neighbors are afraid to come out of their houses, Dona Flor goes off in search of the scary puma. When she doesn’t return, the villagers leave the safety of the pueblo to rescue their friend, only to discover the giant puma isn’t what they thought.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
Mora and Colon have crafted an authentic folktale faithful to the style of the American Southwest. Many cultural markers lend credibility to this Pura Belpre award winning book. In fact, Colon won the award for his illustrations and Mora’s text received an honor book medal.

Pat Mora brings her own Hispanic heritage and Southwestern background to her writing. Her text richly flows with references to the distinct wildlife, plants, and landscape that characterize the American Southwest. The main character, Dona Flor, respects nature and counts pumas, coyotes, and rattlers as animal friends, not enemies. Dona Flor also uses elements of the desert environment when she creates her home out of adobe. The friendly giant even helps her small neighbors by making large tortillas to use as roofs for their houses and rafts to float across the pond.

The Spanish language is an important contributor to the style of this work. Flor is given the honorary title of Dona by the villagers out of respect for her benevolence. Many Spanish terms are used to describe structures, animals, personal endearments, and common phrases. Several examples of Mexican American food are also relevant to the storyline, such as the tortilla roofs and rafts. While some of the Spanish words and phrases will be understand by monolingual English readers, some of the interlingual terms are more complex. A few Spanish words spoken in dialogue are translated literally in the narration; however most words require the reader to use contextual clues to decipher meaning, which makes for a more fluid reading experience for bilingual students. The author does not include a glossary, so monolingual English readers might need to look up the meanings of a few words in a Spanish-English dictionary. Mora’s folktale is definitely intended to celebrate and honor Hispanic culture.

In a picture book, the illustrations complement and extent the text to create a memorable literary and visual experience. Colon’s dreamy illustrations heighten the fantasy of this story. His attention to detail provides the reader with authentic images of life in a Southwestern pueblo. The people, buildings, animals, and vegetation all accurately depict this region of the United States. The clothing and activities of the villagers reflect an earlier time, appropriate to the folktale genre. Images of Dona Flor sleeping in the clouds or plucking stars out of the sky lend a magical quality to the illustrations that perfectly matches the content of the story.

Teachers and librarians looking for high quality children’s picture books that reflect the best of Hispanic literature will be pleased with this selection. Hispanic folktales set in the United States are rare; Dona Flor represents one of the best examples of this often neglected genre. The winning combination of storyline and illustrations create a fanciful, but authentic, multicultural piece.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal raves, “A charming tall tale set in the American Southwest...Colón uses his signature mix of watercolor washes, etching, and litho pencils for the art. There is great texture and movement on each page in the sun-baked tones of the landscape. With Spanish words peppered throughout, this is a welcome entry to the canon that includes other heroines like Sally Ann Thunder and Thunder Rose.”

Booklist writes, “Mora strengthens her economical, poetic text with vivid, fanciful touches: the villagers use Flor's colossal homemade tortillas as roofs, for example. Colon's signature scratchboard art extends the whimsy and gentle humor in lovely scenes of the serene heroine sweet-talking the animals or plucking a star from the sky. A winning read-aloud, particularly for children who can recognize the intermittent Spanish phrases.”

Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/Dona-Flor-Belpre-Illustrator-Awards/dp/0375823379

CONNECTIONS
Other books for children written by Pat Mora:
A BIRTHDAY BASKET FOR TIA. Illustrated by Cecily Lang. ISBN 0689813287
A LIBRARY FOR JUANA: THE WORLD OF SOR JUANA INES. Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. ISBN 0375806431
CONFETTI: POEMS FOR CHILDREN. Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez. ISBN 1880000857
THE RAINBOW TULIP. Illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles. ISBN 0142500097
TOMAS AND THE LIBRARY LADY. Illustrated by Raul Colon. ISBN 0375803491

Submitted by Kim