Uncle Rain Cloud by Tony Johnston

Illustrated by Fabricio VandenBroeck. 32 p., Charlesbridge, 2001.

Carlos's Tío Tomás nearly always seems to be grumpy. He is a monolingual Spanish speaker and resents the use of English all around him. Carlos enjoys Tío Tomás's brief better moods, when he tells Carlos stories from Mexico about Aztec gods. When Tío Tomás is the only adult available to attend Carlos' parent-teacher conference, his teacher asks third-grader Carlos to serve as interpreter. That night, Carlos asks for an Aztec story, and Tío Tomás expresses the belief that Carlos only likes English, and explains that he is ashamed of his fear of speaking English. Carlos empathizes, telling Tío Tomás that he has been teased about the limitations of his own English. Tío Tomás is impressed by Carlos's courage, and finds within himself the ability to allow Carlos to help him learn. Eventually, Tío Tomás proposes that Carlos keep teaching him English and he keep telling Carlos stories from Mexico, in Spanish. Carlos is delighted, because this will double the knowledge of both. This story will help children understand that culture doesn't have to be an "either-or" attribute - it can be "both/and," to the person's benefit.

Ages: 6-10
Cultural Context: multicultural