The Rainbow Tulip

Bibliographic Information:

Mora, Pat.  1999. The Rainbow Tulip. Ill. by Elizabeth Sayles. New York, NY: Viking. 
ISBN  0-670-87291-1.

Summary:
The story’s narrator, Estelita (or Stella), lives with her parents (who speak only Spanish) and her brothers who, like she, are bilingual.  As the story opens, she is preparing for the May parade at her school and needs a dress sewn for the part.  Unlike her classmates, she wants a multi-colored dress – a “rainbow” dress, even though she knows that will make her different from the others.  Stella is a good student and a loving daughter who wishes her mother could speak English so she could communicate with her teacher and the other mothers.  This is a story of the love her family shares as well as the sadness Stella feels about the ways in which her mother is different from those around them.  Ultimately, it is a story of one family’s dignity, quiet pride and shared love of their heritage. 
 

Critical Analysis:

The “Rainbow Tulip” is the story of Estelita/Stella, a young, bilingual Mexican American girl who lives in America with her parents – who speak only Spanish – and her brothers who are also bilingual.  It could be the story of most any child of immigrants as it demonstrates the very authentic struggle often felt between the “old world” of the parents and the “new world” before them in a new country.  Stella and her family only speak Spanish in their home and her mother seems very different from the other children’s mothers.  She has long hair she wears in a bun, she wears no makeup and only wears long, plain, usually dark colored dresses.  Because she cannot speak English, Stella’s mother stands apart from the others – both figuratively and literally – and is a very quiet person.  Like her mother, her father is a quiet man.  A well-read man, he used to be a judge in Mexico and, though he never yells at his children, a stern look can bring them into compliance.  The parents have what we see as very traditional and conservative beliefs and behaviors.

The narrative – told from Stella’s perspective – is very touching and really draws the reader into her world and feelings.  She loves her parents and her heritage but wants to feel not quite so different and wants her mother to fit in better with her language and style.  Readers can feel the pain of her divided mind.  This perhaps comes across so well since it is virtually a true story based on author Pat Mora’s own mother’s childhood growing up in El Paso, Texas in the 1920’s.  Her mother was like young Stella and was able to impart her story and her feelings to her daughter who wrote about it for us readers.

This is probably the main reason that the narrative never gets too heavy-handed.  Very subtly, the author brings out the quiet dignity of Stella’s parents.  You get the feeling that they are good, strong people and loving, involved parents despite the language barrier with others outside of their home.  The children must retain their Spanish language abilities, show respect inside the house and, when the dance is coming up, her mother takes her to have a dress – her “rainbow tulip” dress – tailor made.  These are just a few ways their support and love is demonstrated.

Symbolism in this story can be found in both the rainbow-colored tulip dress and Stella’s beloved lime sherbet.  The dress is very different from the other girls’ dresses which are all single-hued.  The fact that Stella desires to have one that will stand out so much shows the reader something about what she’s made of.  One wants to stand apart from the crowd but it can be difficult to do so sometimes.  Stella’s mother sums up the situation that both the parents and children in the story face when she states that “It is hard to be different.  It is sweet and sour, like your sherbet.” 

The books’ illustrations are soft, pretty pastels that really draw readers into the story.  We see the love in the facial expressions of the characters and the beauty of the rainbow tulip dress as well as the dresses of the other children.  At first, I felt that the drawings should have more vivid, vibrant hues but, in retrospect, I think the fact that they are toned down better fits the mood of the story.  We are used to seeing bright reds and greens in stories of Mexico but we are told that the parents and the house are quiet and Stella herself is probably a quiet child so “quiet colors” probably fit best.

The Mexican/Mexican-American culture is depicted very positively in this book.  The parents are shown as having a quiet, calm dignity and a strength that allowed them to immigrate to a country where they were not fluent in the language perhaps in search of a better life for their children.  The mother still participates though she is unable to discuss Stella with her teachers.  Her support is felt rather than spoken.  The family is typical in many ways of other Mexican-Americans but they never become caricatures or stereotypes.  By hearing the private conversations of Stella and her mother and knowing her father’s background, the characters are fleshed out as whole human beings with thoughts and feelings just like ours.  “This house is a piece of Mexico,” Stella’s father declares and her mother regales her with stories of her ancestors’ proud history.  What a blessing to have both countries and both worlds within one home.

Award Nominations and Book Lists:

Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award Nominee - 1999
ALA Book List - “Growing Up Latino in the U.S.A” - 2004
State of Texas Book List - “Texas Reading Club” - 2004
National Council of Teachers of English - “Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, 4^th Ed.” - 2003

Book Review excerpts:

“Based on a story from the author's mother's childhood, and perfectly extended by soft, warm pastel drawings framed in white, this tale of family love and support crosses cultural boundaries and may remind youngsters of times when their families made all the difference. Pair this with Mary Hoffman's Amazing Grace, another story of an irrepressible child supported by a loving family.” –Library Journal

“Set in El Paso, Texas, this moving family memoir focuses on Mora’s mother as a child who participated in her own way in the May parade...With warmth and directness, Mora celebrates diversity, but provides a balanced view of assimilation as well, Sayles's softly colored illustrations, by turns wistful and vibrant, capture the times and the tone as a young child finds her place in her parents' new country. (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 1999)

“Tapping into her mother’s childhood memories, Mora has culled a tender portrait of home life and early schooling to bring us a story of young Estelita, who learns at a very early age to negotiate her way through her dual Mexican-American identity...This is a quiet book that speaks volumes to today’s immigrant child.” – Multicultural Review

“The scenarios in words and soft-toned pictures show the warm, loving family and also the fun and success at school. . . . At first, the child is ashamed of her quiet, old-fashioned mother, but her parents keep a piece of Mexico at home, and Stella comes to value her dual heritage, even though it is hard to be different.” – Booklist
 

E. Connections/Further Activites:

From the author’s official website:
http://www.patmora.com/ideas.htm#tulip

*Explore the value of oral history with students. For resources visit the teacher section at American Memory at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem

*After discussing the value of oral histories and teaching basic interview techniques, ask students to interview a family member and create an artistic response: a story, play, poem, dance, collage, etc.

*Given the many kinds of families, students can design their own symbol (which need not be the standard family tree) to illustrate their connections to the special people in their lives, those who constitute their family.

*Students can take photographs (or draw) their families and neighborhoods and create their own books. Some students could even create a video.

*Students could role play a scene about the discomfort of feeling different.

Read-alikes and books with which to pair this title:

Chavarría-Cháirez, Becky.  2000.  Magda's tortillas = Las tortillas de Magda.  Ill. By Anne Vega ; Spanish translation by Mercedes Castilla, Julia.  Houston, TX : Pinata Books.  ISBN  1558852867.

Soto, Gary.  1997.  Snapshots from the wedding.  Ill. by Stephanie Garcia.  New York, NY:  G.P. Putnam’s.  039922808X.

Tafolla, Carmen.  2008.  What can you do with a rebozo? Ill. by Amy Cordiva.  Berkeley, CA :  Tricycle Press.  ISBN 9781582462202.

Pair this with Mary Hoffman's Amazing Grace (Dial, 1991), another story of an irrepressible child supported by a loving family.-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.