A Library for Juana

Ragina Shearer
5653 Multicultural Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Book Review – Latino Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. 2002. A LIBRARY FOR JUANA. Ill. by Beatriz Vidal. New York. ISBN 0-375-80643-I

2. PLOT SUMMARY
The story is written as a fictionalized biography of Sor Juana Ines a famous, seventeenth century Mexican literary scholar. She loved books and learned to read pursuing her own desires at the age of three. As a young child she follows her sister to a school in a neighboring home, where she finally enters and asks to be taught. She confronts the teacher and asks, “Senora, I want to read. Por favor will you teach me?” The teacher allows her to stay as long as she behaves, which she does. She reads constantly, surrounding herself with her grandfather’s books. At the age of ten she goes to live with her aunt in Mexico City. Here she is not allowed to go to school, only boys can go, so she is tutored privately. She impresses the queen and is invited to live at the palace. Here she has access to many books which she reads diligently. Later she becomes a nun where she builds her own library of books and can read in the quiet. “She liked the quiet of the convent. She added books to her library until it became one of the largest libraries in the Americas.” Finally, she dies when a plague comes into the convent in 1695.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
This picture book shows the remarkable triumphant of one of Mexico’s most famous poets and philosophers. It begins with Juana as a child, when she learns to read she writes poems and songs for her Mama. When the child narrates the mother is referred to affectionately as Mama, “Mama why are leaves green?” When the narrator refers to her the term mother is used, “Juana Ines! called her mother.” Her first poems are about nature and the beauty around her. Spanish is intermixed here, translation is not needed to continue the flow of the text, but a glossary is provided in the back of the book. “Juana even sings rhymes to the roses, ‘Rosa hermosa, rosa hermosa.” The inside of her house is shown with her Mama cooking over an open fire, fresh vegetables are displayed and Mexican pottery and dishes are on the shelves. The grandfather stands behind the mother and Juana in front of him. They are all dressed in authentic Mexican clothing; her mother even is wearing a serape as she cooks.

Outdoors the country side is covered with the flowers Juana writes about. There are two volcanoes blowing white smoke in the background. “Why do volcanoes smoke? Juana asked when she played outside and looked at two mountains puffing white smoke.” Each page has small pictures to add to the reader’s imagination such as a spinning wheel, which is appropriate of that time period, feathered pen and ink bottle, a small outside view of their Mexican style home and the Mexican palace. The roofs of both have authentic Spanish roofing.

When Juana goes to the palace there are whole pages of authentically costumed people. The pictures are colorful and their costumes match both the time period and the Mexican culture. The faces have detail, and the skin color on some is darker brown than others. The hair of the characters are dark pulled back or in braids on women, the children have dark straight hair and the men in the palace have white long wigs braided or curled, which is accurate for that time period.
“The scholars arrived in long black robes. They looked very serious.” On this page the illustrator has drawn in bubbles around the table surrounding the scholars filled with illustrations of the themes of all of their questions. Juana was able to answer all of their questions correctly.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT (S)
HORN BOOK: “This lovingly produced picture-book biography of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz features a fresh subject and introduces young American audiences to an important figure in Mexico's literary history.”
KIRKUS REVIEW: “Graceful flowers, especially roses (the subject of one of Sor Juana's best-known poems), link text and pictures.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “A standout spread shows Juana flanked by 40 scholars assembled by the viceroy at a giant round table; small insets depict the topics of their quiz (a harp, a caduceus, the planets in orbit around the sun).”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Mora's beautifully crafted text does credit to its subject, following her from birth to death. Sor Juana Inés comes across as intelligent, headstrong, humorous, and kind, and her retreat to the convent as a place of learning seems natural.”

5. CONNECTIONS
Magnificent picture book which details the life and perseverance of a young girl who studies and follows her dream is recommended for ages 5-10. This book is great for use in inspiring young scholars that everyone can accomplish great fetes if they work hard.

Other tales about Mexican children.
Mora, Pat. DONA FLOR: A TALL TALE ABOUT A GIANT WOMAN WITH A GREAT BIG HEART. ISBN 10: 0-375-82337-9
Morales, Yuyi. JUST A MINUTE: A TRICKSTER TALE AND COUNTING.
ISBN 10: 0-8118-3758-0