Edith Hope Fine and Judith Pinkerton Josephson, illustrated by Hernan Sosa,
Armando and the Blue Tarp School
Lee & Low Books, 2007.

 Ages 5-10

 Some silvery thread, a smudged notebook, a dented tin of paint: one person’s trash is a pepenadore’s treasure in the slums of Tijuana (a border town between California and Mexico), where we meet Armando, a young boy who would rather be in school than picking through the dump with his father and hundreds of others for something to use or sell. When Señor David arrives spreading his blue tarp, a makeshift school comes to life. Armando begs his father for a chance to attend the lessons but he refuses.  Nothing daunted, Armando gets his sister to share with him what she learns while sitting on the blue tarp.  He painstakingly begins to copy the new words next to drawings in his notebook. Then, seeing his tenacity, Father finally gives permission for him to attend school, despite the loss of income for the family.

 Hernan Sosa’s sensitive and detailed watercolor and ink illustrations reveal much about life in the colonia, a neighborhood bordering a towering trash heap, as he brings to life Armando’s thin mattress on cinder blocks, his few treasures on a makeshift shelf, and the candle by his bedside for light. When a devastating fire destroys many homes in the colonia, including his own,  Armando’s drawing of the blaze is featured in the local newspaper and the essential goodness of one reader brings forth blessed good fortune to their community.

 The double-page format of the illustrations makes this an excellent group read-aloud. With a liberal sprinkling of Spanish words and phrases, authors Fine and Josephson tackle some powerful themes of social justice and equal opportunity, but the story is not heavy-handed or preachy. Armando’s story is likely to prompt children of all ages to think hard about the gifts and privileges in their own lives. Older students’ experience of the book will be particularly enhanced by the details and photos provided in the Authors’ Notes about the inspiration for the story: David Lynch’s humanitarian work as a teacher in the Tijuana Garbage Dumps Community, which started in 1980 and continues to this day.

 This book about a blue tarp school teaches a valuable lesson about hope, possibilities and the power of one person to make a difference in a community.

 Kristen O. Daniel
January 2008