How Tia Lola Saved the Summer

Tia Lola Stories #3

by Julia Alvarez

Miguel Guzman isn't exactly looking forward to the summer now that his mother has agreed to let the Sword family—a father, his three daughters, and their dog—live with them while they decide whether or not to move to Vermont. Little does Miguel know his aunt has something up her sleeve that just may make this the best summer ever. With her usual flair for creativity and fun, Tía Lola decides to start a summer camp for Miguel, his little sister, and the three Sword girls, complete with magical swords, nighttime treasure hunts, campfires, barbecues, and an end-of-summer surprise!

The warm and funny third book in the Tía Lola Stories is sure to delight young readers and leave them looking forward to their own summer fun!

Genres: Spanish Literature, Fiction, Hispanic, Latinx, Family, Latino, Childrens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2011

About the author

Julia Alvarez left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1960 at the age of ten. She is the author of six novels, three books of nonfiction, three collections of poetry, and eleven books for children and young adults. She has taught and mentored writers in schools and communities across America and, until her retirement in 2016, was a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College. Her work has garnered wide recognition, including a Latina Leader Award in Literature from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, the Woman of the Year by Latina magazine, and inclusion in the New York Public Library’s program “The Hand of the Poet: Original Manuscripts by 100 Masters, from John Donne to Julia Alvarez.” In the Time of the Butterflies, with over one million copies in print, was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its national Big Read program, and in 2013 President Obama awarded Alvarez the National Medal of Arts in recognition of her extraordinary storytelling.

Photo copyright by Brandon Cruz González
EL VOCERO DE PUERTO RICO

Reviews

[Elena Pousada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ywomie Mota
Si yo fuera la terapeuta de Miguel le diría que tiene que ser más imparcial. Cuando su mamá le dijo que él tenía que pasar su verano con Las Espadas, él se enojó porque a él no le gusta jugar con niñas y también él pensaba que ellos iban a interferir con su béisbol. Yo le sugiero que le dé una oportunidad a las niñas porque su genero no debe determinar si debe ser amigo de ellos. Por ejemplo, a Esperanza le gusta jugar beisbol pero Miguel no la dejo jugar con su equipo porque ella era una niña. No es justo que el haga eso porque está arruinando la oportunidad de crear una buena amistad con alguien que comparte un interés común con él. Además, él excluyendo a las chicas muestra que no es considerado de cómo eso las haría sentir. Yo le recomiendo que sea más consciente de estas cosas y que aproveche la oportunidad de conocer a las niñas.

Florencia Perez
Si yo fuera una terapeuta yo le daría algunos consejos a Miguel. El sufre un poco de inseguridad, y creo que durante la historia él mejora ese aspecto de él, con ayuda de la tía Lola. Pero le diría a Miguel, que nadie en la vida te está juzgando, y todos están sólo preocupados por sus asuntos propios. En este mundo es muy difícil no sentirse juzgado por las personas, pero tenemos que practicar con uno mismo y ser seguro de nuestras decisiones y opiniones. También los divorcios son complicados y afecta a los niños y las relaciones con los padres. Es muy difícil tener el balance entre los dos padres y yo le aconsejaría a Miguel que mantengan una buena relación con el padre igual que la de la madre, aunque sea difícil. Miguel es un niño fuerte y inteligente lleno de amor en su corazón, y es un personaje con quien muchos pueden relacionar como. Entonces creo que era un libro muy lindo, y lo recomiendo a todos que lo lean.







Salma Guillen
Creo que la novela proporciona una visión de los problemas comunes con los que muchas personas podrían relacionarse de diferentes maneras. por ejemplo, cuando Miguel dudaba de jugar béisbol porque tenía miedo de fallar es similar a lo que mucha gente podría sentir. las personas pueden sentirlo de diferentes maneras o situaciones, como al realizar una prueba, solicitar un empleo o solicitar ingresar a una universidad. Algunas de estas cosas requieren coraje y un pequeño empujón para poder completarlas, lo que Miguel terminó ganando coraje de su tía Lola y todos tenemos esa persona especial en nuestras vidas que estará a nuestro lado y nos empujará. Otro problema común con el que muchas personas podrían relacionarse es ser un niño y recordar que sus padres terminaron divorciados y que las cosas cambiaron completamente y no eran lo mismo que en un momento dado. muchas personas tienen sentimientos encontrados al respecto o incluso se enojan con un padre para siempre. todo el mundo lo trata de manera diferente, pero, por lo general, para un niño como Miguel y Juanita, los afectó claramente, ya que no era lo mismo y se sabía que los veranos pasaban tiempo con la familia y hacían recuerdos. ahora ni siquiera podían hacer eso porque su hogar estaba dividido, lo que significaba que tenían que ver a cada padre por separado, ya que causaba menos problemas para ambos porque tenían sus propios socio

Sebastian Andrade
Algunos aspectos de este libro que yo pienso que era muy relevante en mi vida era como las personas fueron por cosas muy difíciles por su vida pero se han mejorado mucho con el tiempo. Por ejemplo Miguel y Juanita necesitaban ir por un divorcio entre sus padres y esto era muy difícil para ellos porque estaban en una edad en que no entendían qué estaba pasando entre sus padres. Tal vez pensarían algo diferente que no era la realidad. Teniendo padres divorciados yo puede estar relacionado con esto mucho, a una edad yo no sabía que estaba pasando pero ya cuando estoy más mayor yo entiendo que está pasando. Otra cosa que puedo decir que puede relacionar del cuento es cuando Miguel o Juanita estaban confundidos o asustados para hacer ciertas cosas porque pensaban que no eran suficiente para ser una cierta cosa. Cuando yo tenía cierta edad yo pensaba así pero ahora que estoy más maduro yo entiendo que no deberías tener miedo de hacer cosas nuevas o hacer cosas que no estás tan cómodo con. Estos son algunos aspectos que yo puedo relacionar con el libro.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book three in the Tía Lola series. Tía Lola is Miguel and Juanita Guzman's great-aunt who is from the Dominican Republic. Tía Lola raised their mother, Linda, because Linda's parents died when she was three years old. Linda and the children moved to Vermont from New York when Linda and Miguel and Juanita's father divorced. Tía Lola came to the United States to help Linda with the kids. In this book, we see the emerging relationship between Linda and lawyer Victor Espada who has brought his three daughters and dog to Vermont for a week. Tía Lola makes the summer a fun, learning experience for all the children and adults. I enjoyed the series because it reminds me of my own huge, extended Latino family. The series also centers around changing family relationships, so it may be a good read to recommend to children whose parents may be separating or divorcing.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe had I read more of these (from the start), I would have enjoyed this book a bit more. This is the only Tia Lola book I have read, and I read it because it's part of the Seattle Public Library's Global Reading Challenge this year, and I am helping lead a team. I like the message of this story, but the writing didn't draw me in or keep my focus. It was easy to put down and walk away from. I wasn't dying to find out what happened next or in the end, and I don't have a desire to read the next one to keep up with the characters (which I usually find myself feeling after finishing a book that has a sequel/series.) Again, maybe had I started with the first, I would have been more invested in the characters. I probably would not recommend this book (or series) to students, based on this one.

[Chana Billet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book is my favorite installment in Julia Alvarez's "Tia Lola" series. Reading this lovely summer tale in the heart of winter makes a bleak time of year very bright.

As Juantia and Miguel get used to their parents' divorce, they face the impending reality that their family is changing. Mami and Papi have entered new relationships. Thank goodness Tia Lola is around to help them navigate this stage.

Alvarez continues to wow readers with the "especial" community of Vermont. Like the first two books in the series, she addresses the theme of community, family and friendship while portraying lovable, relateable characters on every page, especially the dazzling Tia Lola who is a constant reminder that life is rewarding when you add a dose of creativity.

[Lisa]

Mami's friend Victor has come to Vermont for a week with his daughters for a summer vacation. Tia Lola has everything planned; a fun "summer camp" experience for the children: Miguel, Juanita and Victor's 3 daughters, Victoria, Essie and Cari. Every child has some personal issue to work on this summer. Tia Lola's "swords" are magical, and help the children discover themselves and how to become who they want to be. Another sequel to How Tia Lola Came To (Visit) Stay (read them in order, this one comes after How Tia Lola Learned to Teach").

Cross posted to http://www.kissthebook.blogspot.com check it out!

[Perla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the third book in the novel only made me more ecstatic to see what the characters were up to since the last book.
In this book, Alvarez let's the characters interact more with one another. The lawyer that helped Tia Lola stay in the United States goes on a vacation and stays with Tia Lola and her family. Miguel is forced to bond with the lawyers three daughters. The girls also join Miguel's baseball team making him feel lack of privacy. Throughout the book, Miguel interacts with the girls and gets to know each of them through Tia Lola's activities. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading stories about bonding and friendship.

[StorySnoops · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Tia Lola Saved the Summer is the heartwarming third book in the series about Tia Lola, the Guzman family's Mary Poppins-esque aunt from the Dominican Republic. This is a wholesome story set in a small town in Vermont about two families coming together as one after a divorce. It is told from the various points of view of the children as they overcome various fears and insecurities under the watchful eye of the maybe-magical Tia Lola...(see full review here: http://www.storysnoops.com/detail.php...)

[Esmeralda Luz Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. My favorite thing would have to be the swords. They really helped everyone with their challenges that week. But the magic was not the sword. I feel like it was what was in their heart. The swords just helped open their hearts. I also feel like everybody has that something that helps them with their challenges and helps them open their heart. This book really helped me understand this.

[Keri Murcray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might have been my favorite Tia Lola book, although I did like the others as well. But I enjoyed the way Tia Lola knew each character had a battle to fight and needed each other to help win those battles. And that they all needed each other and the lessons they each learned to work together and love each other going forward. A beautiful lesson about the need for community, friendship and love.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tia Lola is a little bit magic and a whole lot of fun. I really liked the use of the swords and the introduction of the Swords, and I liked the way the chapters each dealt with one individual's struggle. It was fun to see how the book progressed and how the group of kids learned to get along so well.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Tia Lola book (so far)! Being creative, Tia Lola plans summer camp activities for her niece & nephew and their friends from New York City. #bookaday

[Jennybeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tia Lola has a heart of gold, and an amazing ability to change the world around her. Heartwarming.
SPL Global Reading Challenge 2016

[Courtney Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy lindo que uso por mi práctica diaria de Español. Es para jóvenes y la trama de la historia es muy simple pero eso es perfecta para mi y mi nivel de vocabulario :). Adoro a Julia Alvarez. La conocí cuando era niña y ella visitó mi escuela. He leído y aprendido mucho de sus escritos.

[Autumn Riehemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

i really liked this book. it taught me a lot of words I have never seen and it taught me to be patient with my reading because I truly read this at a snails pace. however I wanted to understand and that felt more important so I am just so glad I finally got through it!!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. This book is written for kids. The main character is an eleven year old boy.
Wonderful characters, story, setting.
Good philosophies about life and being yourself.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big Tia Loa fan. She is a Latina Mary Poppins, full of magic and wisdom. While I don't usually like omniscient third person narration author Julia Alvarez does a great job of switching point of view allowing the reader to see things from different points of view without an artificial distance. Favorite quote:

p. 118 "Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork."