Childsplay, Arizona's Professional Theater for Young Audiences and Families

Childsplay, Arizona's Theatre for Young Audiences & Families

Visit Childsplay's Website | Read the touring company blog | Documents, Schedules, Images, and Logos for download

by José Cruz González
Based on the book by Pat Mora

Tomás and the Library Lady a play with music adapted by José Cruz González from the book of the same name by Pat Mora has been an enormous success in theaters and in schools. In January 2006, Childsplay embarked on its largest effort ever to use drama as a tool for promoting literacy to Arizona’s young people. This timely story inspires children to look beyond the confines of poverty, language barriers, and cultural intolerance to find joy in reading.

Read 10/6 review from The Lawrence Journal-World

From KJZZ

For more information about bringing Tomás and the Library Lady to your community, please contact Childsplay at 480-921-5700 or info@childsplayaz.org.

The inspiring true story of Tomás Rivera, who grew up in a migrant worker family, befriended a librarian in Iowa, and learned to love books and the places they took him. Tomás went on to a successful career in academia and became the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside. Adapted from the well-loved book by prolific children’s author Pat Mora, this play can be readily understood by both English- and Spanish-speakers.

Tomás loves stories! Grandfather tells them every night during the long summers, when the family leaves Texas to pick crops in Iowa. But soon Tomás knows all the stories by heart, and that’s when Papa Grande tells him there is a place full of stories he’s never heard before: the library. When Tomás meets the library lady, nothing is ever the same again. Tomás and the Library Lady celebrates the wonder of reading.

Curriculum Connections: reading – speaking two languages – friendship – exploring – traveling – families

A world premiere adaptation by one of Childsplay’s favorite playwrights.

Grade level -K through 6; Duration – approx. 60 minutes

Between January and June, 2006, 71,873 students in 173 schools saw 259 performances of Tomás and the Library Lady. These schools were in 34 communities around the state of Arizona. During the 2007-2008 touring season, this acclaimed production will be available to presenters throughout the nation.
First Lady Laura Bush attends Childsplay performance

First Lady Laura Bush watched a performance of Childsplay's Tomás and the Library Lady on June 16,2006, along with children from Guadalupe. We were extremely honored to have the First Lady as part of our audience. Mrs. Bush said in remarks afterwards that, as a former librarian, she enjoyed the play and its message about the importance of reading very much. Later in the month, the cast traveled to New Orleans to perform for the American Library Association at their national conference.