My Teacher Has Tattoos

Xavier's mother has always taught him that tattoos mean the person is in a gang. So when he notices tattoos on his teacher, he grows worried about whether or not he's a good person. He's so helpful and always teaching him important lessons so how can his teacher be in a gang? When Xavier asks his teacher about the tattoos, Mr. Mendoza helps clear up the stigmatism towards them. To Xavier, teachers can't have tattoos, but Mr. Mendoza opens his eyes to the fact that it's a form of expression and doesn't make someone a bad person.

MY TEACHER HAS TATTOOS addresses the stigmas that usually surround tattoos and tries to teach how they don't make someone a bad person. While some gangs use them as a label, others use tattoos to express themselves and I love how the author addresses this from a school perspective. There are some discussion questions in the back of the book for either parents or teachers to use to expand on this lesson. It teaches children not to judge others without hearing their story first. The illustrations are beautifully detailed and vibrant and is a great representation of Hispanic heritage.


Final Verdict: I would recommend this to elementary classrooms and to parents who have tattoos. This clears up the bad stigma around them and teaches that you shouldn't judge someone just based on their looks.