Pablo's Tree By Pat Mora

Mora, Pat. 1994. PABLO’S TREE. Ill. by Lang, Cecily. New York: Macmillan.
ISBN-10: 0027674010


PLOT SUMMARY
Each year on his birthday Pablo can hardly wait to spend the night with his grandfather and visit his special tree. Pablo’s tree was chosen by his grandfather in hopes that he would one day have a grandson. The tree was finally planted on the day that his daughter adopted Pablo. Every year since Pablo’s birth his grandfather has decorated the tree with some special gifts like streamers on his first birthday and wind chimes on his fifth birthday. The love between Pablo and his grandfather is as strong as Pablo’s tree and evident throughout this touching story.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Mora does a nice job telling the story of love and tradition between a grandson and his grandfather. It is also nice to see adoption being addressed in a Mexican American picture book. She mixes English text with small amounts of Spanish. Rather than having a glossary for the Spanish words in the back of the book she has chosen to include the meaning of the words in the text.” Como este mi nieto grande? How is my big grandson?” The love and respect shown for the grandfather is also an important message in this story. The role of a grandparent in a Mexican-American family is a valued one and nice to see. Besides these cultural markers the only other evidence is the illustrations. Lang has done a superb job with her bright collage paper cut outs. The detail is focused on the characters and Pablo’s tree. The background does not distract from the important parts of the story. She has made sure to show the characters skin tone and hair appropriately. The white haired grandfather is shown as a loving warm man. The kind anyone would want as a grandfather.
Overall, it is a nice story of the love and special bond between a grandson and grandfather. The text is a bit bland and would work well for younger children.


REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist
Five-year-old Pablo can hardly wait to see how Abuelito, his grandfather, has decorated Pablo's tree for his birthday. When Mam{ }a first told her father that she was going to adopt a baby and name it after him if it were a boy, Lito went out and bought the tree for his grandson. He moved the tree from place to place and watered it, but he waited to plant it until the day that Mam{ }a finally brought Pablo home. And every year since then, Lito has decorated the tree for Pablo's birthday. For his first, Lito hung colored streamers on the tree. For his second, Lito tied balloons. For his third, it was paper lanterns, and last year, it was birdcages. What will it be this year? As in A Birthday Basket for T{¡}ia (1992), Mora and Lang tell a story that focuses on the special relationship between a child and an older person within a Hispanic family. Boldly cut and bright with detailing accents, Lang's clever cut-paper collages fill each page like a photo album with picture after picture of a family history that sparkles with love and a sense of belonging. 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.

Kirkus Reviews
It's Pablo's birthday, and he's ready for his birthday visit to his grandfather Lito's house, where Lito has decorated a special tree in Pablo's honor. Pablo's tree was planted when his mother adopted him. It was put in a special place--not in the front yard (where it was too noisy), not in the rose garden (where there were too many thorns), but in a quiet spot in the sun. Each year on Pablo's birthday, Lito picks something different with which to decorate it--streamers, colored balloons, paper lanterns, tiny birdcages. This birthday it is festooned with chimes. Pablo and Lito celebrate the day by munching apples and listening to the music the wind makes blowing through Pablo's tree. Pablo looks forward to next year's decoration, which Lito assures him will be yet another surprise. Though this is a charming story about a particularly joyful Mexican-American birthday tradition, the text wanders.

Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/Pablos-Tree-Pat-Mora/dp/0027674010

CONNECTIONS
Additional books by Pat Mora on Mexican American cultural.
Tomas and the Library Lady ISBN-10: 0375803491
A Birthday Basket For Tia ISBN-10: 0689813287