My Teacher Has Tattoos - Darren López - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Darren López

ILLUSTRATOR: Bhagya Madanasinghe

GENRE: Children's Picture Book.

PUBLICATION DATE: August 1, 2023

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A thought-provoking OwnVoices picture book about how tattoos do not necessarily mean something negative. Fabulous intent, great storyline, awesome illustrations. Much recommended!

Plot Preview:

For the first time ever, little Xavier has a male teacher, Mr. Mendoza. And horror of horrors, Mr. Mendoza has tattoos! Mama has always warned Xavier to steer clear of anyone with tattoos as they can only be bad men. But Mr. Mendoza doesn’t look like he has been in jail. He is a good teacher and a Yankees fan, and from New York just like Xavier. Could it be that Mama got it wrong? Could a good person also have tattoos?

The story comes to us from Xavier’s first-person point of view.

I recently saw this book on the Hear Our Voices Instagram page and loved the cover art so much that I borrowed a copy of this from my library. They had only the Spanish version in stock. Google Lens to the rescue! 😁 I am sure Google goofed up on a couple of lines, but I think I got most of the essence right. 🤞🏻🤭

The concept of this story is fabulous. Tattoos have been viewed with suspicion because of their historical links to gangs and cults. However, a person could ink their body for various purposes, and this lovely book goes to highlight a whole variety of plausible reasons why people might want a tattoo, ranging from cultural significance to personal nostalgia to religious wishes to simply body art. I appreciate how the book clarifies that some tattoos can definitely signal bad ideas such as being part of a gang, but how judging all tattoos based on this isn’t right.

The student-teacher relationship is put to good use in this story. It is interesting to see Xavier struggle between the two most important voices of authority in his life – his mama and his teacher. It might be a good way of letting kiddos understand that parents too might get it wrong at times, and judging something by logic is way better than simply blindly following commands. I wish the book showed a scene where Xavier convinces his mother not to be prejudiced against tattooed people.

The story also explains the meaning of stereotypes, whether based on appearance or on gender. The latter is highlighted through a lovely scene towards the end about who can or cannot play baseball. It was a great way of reinforcing the concept of stereotyping.

The book is written in simple text, with about 3-4 small paragraphs per page.

The author’s note at the end of the book indicates that this was inspired by an actual incident when he, a tattooed Latinx man, was a first-year teacher in Washington D.C. I love that he used his experience to pen this informative little book. There are some discussion questions at the end, which would be quite useful in a classroom.

The last thing I expected to see in a Spanish book about tattoos was a page on Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of education and learning! And this wasn’t forced into the story but was a logical part of the plot - Amazing!!! The illustration of Saraswati has to be among the most beautiful I have ever seen. In fact, all the illustrations in this book are gorgeous, with beautiful earthy tones, amazing expressions on the human characters, and of course, the intricate tattoo designs. I was getting strongly familiar vibes from the sketches, and I guess that is partly because the illustrator is a Sri Lankan. The graphics are so reminiscent of the type I see in storybooks here in India; I simply loved them!

All in all, I love the concept as well as the execution of this book. Except for a couple of minor scenes where the plot could have detailed out the gaps better, the story is excellent and offers a valuable lesson to little ones.

Definitely recommended! This OwnVoices picture book is meant for readers aged 5-9, and will be a great option at homes as well as schools.