School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Tomasito is having a hard time adjusting to his new school. Even though he wants to do what the other kids do, spina bifida keeps him wheelchair bound. To help him with his transition, his supportive and loving father gives him a new pet. Desplumado is a featherless bird that cannot fly. But, as Tomasito learns with the help of a new friend, there is more than one way to fly, and more than one way to play soccer. He is great at heading the ball, and as his participation and inclusion in the Fresno Flyers soccer team becomes a reality. Herrera's prose poem is a paean to those children who overcome adversity to create inclusion. Cuevas's oil illustrations, with forms surrounded by heavy black lines, work well in the soccer scenes but seem lumpy and inert in the indoor scenes, where the hues are darker and muddier. Still, this title could be used for a storytime focus on acceptance and tolerance and in ELL programs. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Mexican-American Tomasito has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair in this bilingual tale. After his father gives him a disabled, featherless bird, Tomasito goes on to have success on the soccer field despite his disability. The story is didactic and predictable. Minimalist in their approach, the illustrations feel unfinished. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Like his pet bird Desplumado, featherless and with a drawn-in foot, Tomasito can't fly. Born with spina bifida, Tomasito is confined to a wheelchair and despairs of fitting in at his new school, where he has to explain his condition all over again. But with the encouragement of his father and friendly classmate Marlena, Tomasito recovers his sense of equilibrium and competence. While Featherless specifically addresses spina bifida, the story overall and Tomasito's sympathetic link to Desplumado open up avenues to address other physical disabilities that students might face. Tomasito's dream of flying with Desplumado and his incorporation into a soccer team help youngsters understand that disabled children share their longings and hopes, as well as the ability to achieve and participate. Cuevas's paintings are full-spread and boldly colored, combining realism with cartoon-style simplicity; their broad washes and fuzzy edges reveal the texture of the paper on which they were created. Both Spanish and English texts are direct, inviting, and expressive. (Picture book. 6-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. In this bilingual picture book, the text is better than the somewhat garish acrylic illustrations. Unable to walk because of his spina bifida, Tomasito feels unconnected in his new school. His father brings him a featherless parrot for company, but the boy wants nothing to do with a bird that looks so different. Eventually, Tomasito finds a place for himself on the soccer field, where he learns that one doesn't necessarily need feathers to fly. The message is heavy, but always the poet, Herrera transforms the language to depict both the boy's isolation and later his boundless joy. The Spanish offers slightly richer detail than the English: a casita-trailer is more descriptive, for example, than the simple trailer. An encouraging story, especially for Latino children with disabilities, who may recognize themselves and find their own ways to fly. --Julie Kline Copyright 2004 Booklist
