Book Review - Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About A Giant Woman With A Great Big Heart

Mora, Pat. ill. Raul Colon. 2005. Dona Flor:
A Tall Tale About A Giant Woman With A Great Big Heart. Alfred A. Knopf: New York.

This original tall tale about a giant woman whose heart is even bigger than her stature, is both humorous and heart-warming. Long ago, Dona Flor’s mother sang in a sweet voice that caused the corn plants and Dona Flor to grow and grow. When Dona Flor stopped growing, she built her own adobe with dirt, water, and straw, and stars from the sky to make it shine. Dona Flor is unique, not only for her height, but for her ability to speak ever animal language, even rattler. She helps her friends, the people of the village, by making them tortillas, which they sometimes used as boats, carrying them places on her large back, slowing a strong wind, trenching a river with her thumb, and befriending a small puma whose roar has been terrifying them for some time. Spanish words are scattered throughout the text giving the book a cultural feel. The illustrations were done with a combination of watercolor washes, etching, and colored and litho pencils. The warm colors radiate from Dona Flor’s skin, and beautifully complement the cool hues of the sky and water, creating an overall lovely effect. This book is a tall tale must for any library. Mandy Hooker (Written as an assignment for TWU SLIS)