A Library for Juana: the World of Sor Juana Ines (bk 1) (40 pgs)

Mora, Pat (2002). Illus. Beatriz Vidal. A library for juana: the world of Sor Juana Ines. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, NY.

Summary:
A Library for Juana tells the story of a young woman who fought to get the education she felt she deserved. This book chronicles her life from birth to the point where she becomes a nun and builds one of the biggest libraries in the Americas. It is a powerful story of what one person can do when they decide that is what they want. Juana wanted to learn to read and become educated so she did whatever she could to get what she wanted.
Author: Pat Mora
Illustrator: Beatriz Vidal
Access Features: Glossary, Author’s Note
Illustrations: Illustrations appear to have been created using colored pencils. They are very vibrant and colorful. They are large and take up a full page even spilling onto neighboring pages. The illustrations follow the story and create the imagery for the reader.
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: I would use this book to introduce diversity and talk about hardships that people of other cultures or countries face. I would also talk about all of Juana’s hard work to get to where she wanted to be in life. It would also be a great tool to talk about the educational culture of other countries
Credibility of Author: Mora thanks the scholars of Sor Juana at the beginning of the book but there is no mention of how she went about researching Juana Ines’s life.
Grade Level: Grades 1-4
Awards: Tomas Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 1: Culture; Standard 3: People, Places, and Environment; Standard 4: Individual Development and Identity
Related Texts: Tomas and the Library Lady by: Pat Mora-tells the story of the librarian that influenced Tomas Rivera and his love for books.

Response:
I really enjoyed reading this book. I fell that this tells a wonderful story of a woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. She was told time and time again that her dreams could never be realized but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. It is a wonderful story of what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it.