Amazon.com
With her brilliantly hued flower-print dresses, her maracas and tambor, and the migrating beauty mark over her lipsticked mouth, Tia Lola stands out in Vermont like a tropical bird in a snowstorm. Her nephew, 10-year-old Miguel, just wants to fit in to his new home. He and his mother and sister have just moved here from New York following his parents' divorce. With his black hair and brown skin, it's hard enough already without the flamboyant antics of his friendly, nutty aunt, visiting from the Dominican Republic. But even while she is dancing her merengues in front of his new friends and painting the white farmhouse purple, Tia Lola is also weaving a magical spell of love and support that Miguel and his wounded family sorely need. Miguel's growing appreciation for his crazy aunt's ways, and the entire town's admiration and respect for an outsider who, without even speaking the same language, wins the hearts of all, is a funny, uplifting story.
Julia Alvarez is the author of many award-winning novels, including How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies, and the picture book The Secret Footprints. She writes with a warmth and humor that crosses all boundaries. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
PW called this story of a nine-year-old boy and his younger sister attempting to adjust after their move from New York City to Vermont in the wake of their parents' divorce "alternately affecting and treacly." Ages 8-12. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Miguel and Juanita Guzman and their mother have moved from New York City to rural Vermont, where Mami has taken a position as a college counselor. Left behind is their beloved Papi, a painter whom their mother is divorcing. To ease the transition and to help with baby-sitting, Mami has sent for her aunt from the Dominican Republic. From the moment the children meet her, glamorous T'a Lola creates a delightful whirlwind in their home, from her flamboyant appearance and tropical decorating to her lively music, exotic cooking, and vivid storytelling. Miguel, anxious to make friends and fit in, is both embarrassed and comforted by her warm presence and he half-believes her practice of the Santeria religion gives her magical powers, including the ability to get him on the baseball team. The youngsters' attempt to teach their aunt their language leads to many humorous situations as she interprets idioms literally and uses expressions inappropriately. Accompanying them on a visit to their father, she gets lost but, once found, helps them accept that the divorce will not threaten their parents' love for them. In the end, T'a Lola decides to stay. The story concludes with a Christmas holiday trip to the Dominican Republic where the children meet their mother's family for the first time and begin to accept that home is where love is. Readers will enjoy the funny situations, identify with the developing relationships and conflicting feelings of the characters, and will get a spicy taste of Caribbean culture in the bargain.Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. When Tia Lola first comes from the Dominican Republic to visit Miguel, 10, and his family in their new home in Vermont, Miguel is wary, especially when Lola paints the house purple and wears bright flowered dresses on which parrots fly towards palm trees. All he needs is for his new classmates to find out he has a nutcase for a relative. But he soon succumbs to her love and her "visit" becomes a long stay. She's something of a santera, and she does seem to work magic on everybody with her friendliness, enthusiasm, stories, and surprise parties. What she can't do is bring his divorced parents back together. But she does go with Miguel and his sister to visit their dad in New York, and she takes the kids back "home" to meet the extended family on the island. Alvarez's first book for young readers sometimes reads like a docu-novel, but the warmth of the individual characters and the simple music of the narrative will appeal to middle-graders. So will the play with language. Tia Lola teaches Miguel and Juanita Spanish as she talks, so the English translation is right there in the text. They teach her English, which she practices on everyone in town with hilarious effect. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they’re being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of the la lengua nativa - the mother tongue. Simple, bella, un regalo permanente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.”–Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they?re being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of the la lengua nativa - the mother tongue. Simple, bella, un regalo permanente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.??Kirkus Reviews
Book Description
A delightfully entertaining story of family and culture from acclaimed author Julia Alvarez.
Moving to Vermont after his parents split, Miguel has plenty to worry about! Tía Lola, his quirky, carismática, and maybe magical aunt makes his life even more unpredictable when she arrives from the Dominican Republic to help out his Mami. Like her stories for adults, Julia Alvarez’s first middle-grade book sparkles with magic as it illuminates a child’s experiences living in two cultures.
Card catalog description
Although ten-year-old Miguel is at first embarrassed by his colorful aunt, Tia Lola, when she comes to Vermont from the Dominican Republic to stay with his mother, his sister, and him after his parents' divorce, he learns to love her.
From the Inside Flap
A delightfully entertaining story of family and culture from acclaimed author Julia Alvarez.
Moving to Vermont after his parents split, Miguel has plenty to worry about! Tía Lola, his quirky, carismática, and maybe magical aunt makes his life even more unpredictable when she arrives from the Dominican Republic to help out his Mami. Like her stories for adults, Julia Alvarez’s first middle-grade book sparkles with magic as it illuminates a child’s experiences living in two cultures.
From the Back Cover
"Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they’re being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of the la lengua nativa - the mother tongue. Simple, bella, un regalo permanente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.”–Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Julia Alvarez is the award-winning author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, ¡Yo!, In the Time of the Butterflies, In the Name of Salomé, and a picture book, The Secret Footprints. Her most recent book for young readers is entitled Before We Were Free. She is a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College.
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