Doña Flor

Written by Pat Mora

Illustrated by Raul Colón

1. Bibliography

Mora, Pat. Doña Flor.: A Tall Tale About A Giant Woman With A Great Big Heart. Ill. by Raul Colón. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN: 0375823379

2. Plot Summary

Doña Flor is a tall tale about a giant lady named Flor, who lives in a village in the American Southwest.  Flor can speak all languages even the languages of the animals, and often asks them to help her with chores.  She is called Doña or Mrs. in English out of respect.  Doña Flor is very important to the people of her town.  Every morning she makes humongous tortillas for the villagers to eat and use as roofs for their houses.  She also grows giant flowers that the villagers use for musical instruments.  One day none of the villagers show up at Doña Flor’s house to pick up tortillas to take home to their families.  She finds out the villagers are hiding because they hear the roar of what they think is a giant mountain lion.  Doña Flor goes looking for the mountain lion each day, but she cannot find him.  The villagers hide in their homes and will not come out to see Doña Flor.  Finally Doña Flor asks the animals for help and they tell her where to find the mountain lion or puma.  Doña Flor soon discovers that the giant mountain lion is not what he appears to be.

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3. Critical Review

Doña Flor is a beautifully written tall tale rich with culture.  The story follows the life of Flor, a very tall woman who can literally touch the clouds, and her dedication to the people of her village.  Flor is a magical character not only because she is tall, but because she can speak all languages even the languages of the animals.  Her singing also makes plants grow to an abnormal height. 

Pat Mora, the author, uses anthropomorphism throughout the story to give human characteristics to the sun, wind, and animals.  The author incorporates and often substitutes Spanish words for English words in the story.  The Spanish words might be a little confusing for some readers, but the author uses the English words interchangeably.  This book has an independent reading level of 3.6 or third grade, but younger student would enjoy hearing the story as well.  The authors writing is filled with similes and adjectives that make images dance in your head as you read the flowing words.

Pat Mora subtly promotes reading and literacy in her story.  She writes about Doña Flor reading books outside of the town library and Doña Flor reading to the animals and children.  Pat Mora is an advocate for multicultural education and often speaks about children’s literacy.  She has written other books such as Tomas and the Library Lady that promote literacy as well.

Raul Colón, the illustrator, creates wonderful pictures throughout the story, which stretch the reader’s imagination.  His artwork is created with watercolor washes, etching, and colored and litho pencils.  The illustrations make the story come to life and help the reader to understand the culture of the villagers.  His pictures help the reader see what the village looks like and the dress of the people of the town.  He also uses bright rich colors with brush strokes and lines that add to the flow and movement of the characters. 

The pictures and words of this story make the reader feel as if they were there.  This tall but intriguing tale shows the friendship and love between the villagers and Doña Flor and the great lengths that Flor goes to in order to help the people of her pueblo.

4. Review Excerpts

WINNER 2006 Pura Belpre Illustrator Award
WINNER 2006 ALA Notable Children's Book
SUBMITTED 2005 Golden Kite Award for Fiction

Book Links: “Mora's poetic text is sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases, and Colon's whimsical scratchboard art adds an uplifting tine to this satisfying tale.

Kirkus Review: “Doña Flor, beautiful giantess of the American Southwest, is so tall she plucks estrellas from the sky and grabs snow from mountaintops to wake herself up in the morning. Her tortillas are so big that her neighbors use the extra ones as roofs.”

School Library Journal: A charming tall tale set in the American Southwest. Doña Flor, a giant, is a benevolent presence in her pueblo. While at first kids teased the young and large Flor, she quickly became an asset to them, whisking them off to school when they were running late or making tortillas big enough to be used as rafts on the river. The action starts when a puma is heard howling in the vicinity; the villagers are terrified and even Doña Flor can't find it. The animals know where the "gato" is so she follows their advice and the situation is delightfully resolved. 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." -Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA" Copyright 2005 Media Source Inc. School Library Journal, October 1, 2005

5. Connections

Discuss or make a list of the Spanish words in the story and talk about what they mean in English.  Talk about how you can use context clues to figure out what the words mean even if you don’t speak Spanish. 

Do an author study on Pat Mora.  Research and read bibliographic information on Pat Mora to the class.  Than read other books by Pat Mora and discuss her writing style and similarities in the books.
Other books by Pat Mora:
Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children's Day/ Book Day; Celebremos El Dia de Los Ninos/ El  Dia de Los Libros ISBN: 978-0061288777 
Gracias/ Thanks ISBN:978-1600602580
Tomas and the Library Lady ISBN: 978-0375803499
Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings ISBN: 978-1584302711

Compare and contrast the book Swamp Angel by Anne Issacs to Doña Flor.

Discuss the comparison and make a chart showing the similarities and differences.

Swamp Angel ISBN: 9780140559088