Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart Paperback – Picture Book, August 10, 2010

Beautiful as far as the message as well as the paintings in the book

Having recently seen an exhibit of Raul Colon's illustrative art, I was curious about the stories that accompanied them. i love this particular tall tale for its inventiveness; the few words of Spanish scattered throughout the story will, hopefully, encourage young readers to discover the magic of another language.

This is a great story, our daughter loves it! Mom and Dad love it too...The illustrations are beautiful and the story is rich. There are a few Spanish words peppered throughout which is a nice touch. We have been reading 'tall tales' and this is probably the best of the bunch.

This is a beautiful story with gorgeous illustrations. Doña Flor's size and ability to reshape nature remind me of Paul Bunyon. Due to the story's length, I think this book is perfect to read to kids in Kindergarten through 3rd grade.

"Dona Flor" may well be Raul Colon's "masterpiece." It's a beautiful, benevolent tall tale--- ( and one that long-time and budding feminists will surely love). The illustrations are imaginative, witty, gorgeous---and tender. Also, they have a certain grandeur---as illustrations for a tall tale should. And, the charming text and the illustrations are perfectly matched. This is a book I'm very happy to own, for both the story and the wonderful images.

Bought for my Granddaughter and she loved it!

Beautiful book, great story and illustrations. I used it for a bi-lingual read aloud time with my son’s class and it was a hit!

Do you ever write down loose story ideas? I do--on index cards. I made one last year that said (in half-baked nonsense typical of me): "Updated Paul Bunyan, female MC. Instead of dumb blue ox sidekick, something cool. Opposite of cutting down." Which...probably meant conservation-themed? I'll never know.Because: good news! Since 2005, the work's already been done for me, better than I ever could. Sigh. But also, HAPPY SIGH! Because it's lovely.The Pura Belpré and Golden Kite winning Doña Flor, by Pat Mora and Raúl Colón, is a tall tale, told with tenderness. It's hard to summarize the plot; suffice it to say, Doña Flor is, above all (haha), a community organizer and beloved neighbor. In fact, she's a model neighbor who understands her power comes with responsibilities to others, which she thoughtfully, respectfully, and gracefully takes on (unlike SOME people. #justsaying).She also finds time to read, make tortillas the size of rafts, and hug the wind to quiet it down. (#biggoals) Which is to say, she's also a lot of fun.With a poquito of Spanish and featuring *gorgeous* visual storytelling, this story of a giant with a heart to match is a lovely, feminist-forward retelling that does include (bonus!) a slew of cool animal sidekicks and is *definitely* about being the opposite of someone who cuts down others.