5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Away out west they've got a name for rain and wind and fire, February 5, 2006
Who doesn't like a good gigantic woman tall tale? From to Anne Isaacs', "Swamp Angel" to Lynne Bertrand's, "Granite Baby", I would dare say that there isn't a single poorly written picture book out there featuring a huge female. "Dona Flor" is no exception to that rule. Illustrated by the truly original Raul Colon and written by the prolific Pat Mora the story is not a wholly original one, but it's just well-written enough to deserve the praise it's received. A winner of the 2006 Pura Belpre Medal for Illustration and the Pura Belpre Honor for Narration, the story is a lovely series of small adventures by a larger than life gal.
If a person grows large plants by singing to them, then shouldn't the same logic apply to babies? Sure enough, when Dona Flor's mother sang to her little girl, that same babe grew and grew and grew. Our first image is of Flor washing her face with the snow of a nearby mountain. Able to speak to animals of every kind, she may have been considered different from the other kids but when it came to getting to school on time there was no one better to catch a ride on. When she was grown up she allowed everyone in her home, whether animal or person. One day the villagers are scared out of their wits by the deafening roar of a mountain lion. When the wind starts making a fuss as well Flor gets him under control with a big old hug. Finally, Flor finds the source of the giant cat's cries. Seems a puma has set up a somewhat clever hollow log device that blasts its voice over the countryside. Flor befriends the little kitty (little to her) then she and all her animal friends settle in for the night on some comfy fluffy clouds.
It takes one or two reads of the book to really get a feel for Mora's style of writing. At a first glance I found the wording to be a little herky jerky. Then, as I eased into it, I found that Mora was just following the standard tall tale format already so familiar with other folk heroes. There's also no denying that it is singularly satisfying to see a hero who is a beautiful, strong, woman of Hispanic heritage. Flor's both lovely and ultimately capable. In this way, Raul Colon has undoubtedly created his nicest book yet. It's obvious that nobody draws like Raul Colon. His style of watercolor washes, etching, and colored and litho pencils offers us images with an amazing amount of depth and texture. You wouldn't think texture would be all that important in a picture book done with colored pencils, but when Colon combines all his different techniques the result is simultaneously dreamlike and yet somehow realistic too. His Dona Flor, for her part, is truly lovely. I can only imagine the delight Pat Mora must have felt when she saw Colon's illustrations for the first time. She's a lucky woman indeed.
There are some fun parallels that you can draw between this book to other tall tales. For example, there's a moment when Dona Flor is making tortillas. The tortillas are so large that the children are able to punt them down the pond for fun. If you wanted to do a storytime with stories of the same ilk, consider grabbing Steven Kellogg's, "Paul Bunyan" which (if I'm not too much mistaken) includes a similar instance with pancakes. Flor's handling of the wind (as featured on the book's cover) would also pair beautifully with "Mirandy and Brother Wind" by Patricia McKissack. It occurs to me that Pat Mora does tireless work for librarians in her spare time. Logically then, "Dona Flor" is her gift to those librarians constantly searching for new storytime material that deals with tall tales. Definitely add it to your own personal collection and seriously consider pairing it with the aforementioned tall tales I've already brought up. A pleasure to the eye and ear.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Message, December 27, 2010
This review is from: Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart (Pura Belpre Medal Book Illustrator (Awards)) (Hardcover)
**spoiler alert** I loved this picture book. Not only were the illustrations gorgeous and very unique, the author's writing style, plot, and tone filled me up with happiness and warmth. This picture book brought a smile to my face.
Dona Flor is a giant lady who lives in a handmade pueblo. She can also speak every single language ever known, including the languages for animals (i.e. rattler). Dona Flor is so large because her mother sung to her as a child out of her love for her. Flor does the same thing now - she sings to her plants and animals out of love for them. She loves to read to the children outside of the library and make sure that all her animals and neighbors are always welcomed inside of her home. One day all of her neighbors and animals are scared after hearing a loud "roarr". Flor tries to find the huge gato that is making her friends scared. When she finally finds the gato she sees that it is actually a small cat 'roarring' into a large hollow tree trunk. Instead of getting angry she is happy and sleeps in the clouds with the cat sleeping on her big toe.
The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous!! Pat Mora also mixes Spanish words into her sentences, and also makes sure that they words used are explained, either by directly telling you or through the context of the sentence. Her tone is very loving and full of warmth. Dona Flor is characterized by her unyielding love she has for everyone and everything, which is translated into her actions and tenderness and understanding. Not once does she get angry in the book, even after she finds the cat that is scaring her friends; once she sees he is small she laughs out of joy and invites her into her life.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Tale Plus Wonderful Illustrations, February 8, 2008
This review is from: Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart (Pura Belpre Medal Book Illustrator (Awards)) (Hardcover)
This wonderful story of "Mrs. Flower" is beautifully written. It is a tall tale on the lines of Paul Bunyan, as far as a folk hero is concerned. Dona Flor is wise, and eager to befriend everyone in her little pueblo. This story is about compassion, friendship, and bravery. The illustrations by Raul Colon are exceptional! This is a wonderful read aloud tale.
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