Pablo's Tree

Bibliography:

Mora, Pat. 1994. Pablo's Tree. Ill. Cecily Lang. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: New York. ISBN: 0-02-767401-0

Summary:

It's Pablo's fifth birthday and he is excited to go to his grandfather's house to see his special tree.  Pablo's abuelito bought a tree for Pablo when he was very young and his grandfather decorates it specially for each birthday.  Pablo and his grandfather spend time playing with his new birthday toys and reminiscing about the story of how Pablo was introduced to the family and his tree.

Analysis:

Pablo tells his own story in first person narrative, introducing the reader to his family and family traditions in a very personal and welcoming way.  Author Pat Mora uses simple, clear text to portray this young child's thoughts and emotions creating truly relateable text for children.  Within the text Mora utilizes basic Spanish paired with the English equivalents to aide the portrayl of Pablo's Mexican-American heritage.  Mora also uses descriptive text to portray the love between Mama, Pable and Lito, like when Pablo describes how he gives Lito a "giant hug, and again I almost knock him down.  But he just smiles."  This kind of warm language shows the reader a loving family, a positive example of an adoptive family.

Paired beautifully with the text are the cut-paper illustrations of Cecily Lang.  The bright bold colors appeal to young children and mirror Pablo's exuberant personality and attitude.  The crisp clean lines of the characters make them stand out and draw the reader's eye.  The illustrations complement the text and extend Pablo's version of events by showing the character's emotions clearly exemplified by the illustrations depicting when Lito first held Pablo and when Lito first planted Pablo's tree.  The family's happiness is clear for any reader to see.

The bright bold illustrations paired with Pablo's young excited tone create an enjoyable energetic book about family tradition borne from love.  Many Hispanic ESL students enjoy this book because of the included Spanish phrases and words, that provide them with the opportunity to be facilitator/teacher.  Students enjoy Pablo and identify with him, creating a lasting impression and memorable character.

Reviews:

"Five-year-old Pablo can hardly wait to see how Abuelito, his grandfather, has decorated Pablo’s tree for his birthday. When Mamá first told her father that she was going to adopt a baby … Lito went out and bought the tree for his grandson … A lovely and resonant picture book that, like the tree that Pablo discovers decked with bells and wind chimes, rings with happiness and family love."—Booklist*

"This is a warm and gentle story, the tree-surprise aspect gives the tale a pleasing sparkle, and the characters provide a nice complement to all the WASP-y, Norman Rockwell families in adoption books—the family is Latino, and mom is a single parent." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books*

1994 Américas Commended List*

*from www.patmora.com

Connections:
  

• Discuss family traditions, have students share traditions they participate in with family members
• Discuss adoption and what it means to adopt a baby.  Why did Mama ask Lito, "what if the baby is a girl?"
• Books about family traditions: 

            A Birthday Basket for Tia - Pat Mora
            Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza

• Books about adoption:

           Horace by Holly Keller
           A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
           My Family Is Forever by Nancy Carlson