Tio Armando

by Florence Parry Heide, Ann Grifalconi, Roxanne Heide Pierce

When Lucita's great-uncle Armando comes to live with them, he teaches her many truths about life

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

"What do I like about writing for children? Everything," says Florence Parry Heide, the award-winning author of more than sixty children’s books, including the classic THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN, illustrated by Edward Gorey. "I like the connection with children," the author says. "I like the connection with all kinds of book people. And I like the connection with my childhood self, which is the most of me. It is the most welcome and familiar of worlds. There miracles abound--indeed it is magical that something I might think of can be put into words, stories, ideas, and that those words end up in the heads of readers I will never meet."

Florence Parry Heide wrote SOME THINGS ARE SCARY, a humorous look at childhood bugaboos, more than thirty years ago. "I had finished another book and was in the mood to write something else," she says. "I decided to get some kindling from the garage, reached into the kindling box and--good grief!--grabbed something soft and mushy. I fled back to the house, scared to death." A brave return visit to the kindling box revealed the object of terror to be nothing more than a discarded wet sponge, but the thought remained: some things are scary. As she recalls, "What scared me as a child was that I’d never learn how to be a real grownup--and the fact is, I never did find out how it goes."


One thing Florence Parry Heide does have a good handle on is the concept of friendship, in all its humorous manifestations. THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, a tongue-in-cheek tale cowritten with Sylvia Van Clief in 1967, pokes at the tendency of well-meaning friends to offer advice instead of help, and presents a valuable lesson about what true friendship means. "One of my many (true) sayings is ‘A new friend is around the corner of every single day,’ " the author declares. "Also true: Friendships last. And last."


Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Florence Parry Heide worked in advertising and public relations in New York City before returning to Pittsburgh during World War II. After the war, she and her husband moved to Wisconsin, where they raised five children, two of whom have cowritten critically acclaimed books with their mother. Florence Parry Heide now lives in Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Emily Carrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tio Armando moves in with Lucitita and the rest of their family; Lucitita loves her great Uncle Armando and his stories. While he lives with them, he teaches her about community service and the reward you receive when you give to others. He goes to the hospital everyday to give flowers and other gifts. He also goes to the library every day and teaches Lucitita that you don't have to speak the same language in order to become friends with someone; all of the regulars and staff at the library knew of her Tio and smiled when he walked in, even though they couldn't speak Spanish (his only language). He also showed her that he always packed a little extra in his lunch, and gave his leftovers everyday to the old man who couldn't afford a lunch. He has many small words of wisdom for Lucitita, even when he died after living with them for a year.

I love this book because it gives many pieces of advice and wisdom towards children from someone they could look up to. It also deals with many different moral issues, hardships of life, and being kind to others every day. It also shows what Latino families are like and their culture, so I could use it when talking about diverse families.
I would read this aloud in a Kindergarten classroom up to a 6th grade classroom, and keep it in the classroom library.

[Jose Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Heide and Pierce was a sad one. It is about an uncle who comes to live with a Mexican- American family. The main character, Lucitita, her siblings and parents, create a stronger bond because of this experience. Their uncle is much older. He's wife passed away. The children learn many lessons from their uncle and he shares with them many stories of the past. You get a sense that the story is moving because of the references to the months of the year. The children get to see the many good deeds that their uncle performs such as, giving food to a homeless man, visiting the sick at the hospital, being kind to others. The uncle dies while staying with the family. The children learn that their is always someone to be thankful for.

[Dorian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very touching book about the loss of a loved one and how they are always with you. It is very nicely integrated with Spanish words.

[Olivia Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a grandpa living with his grandchildren after his wife passes away. The book goes through each month and tells what the grandpa did with his grandchildren. At the end of the book Tio Armando passes away, but it is still happy. This would be good to have in a class room to talk about family, the months, and a hard topic like death.