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Summary
Summary
The day-to-day experiences of a young girl in a traditional Hispanic community form the basis of this lovingly told, beautifully illustrated book. Garza's memories of childhood are "an inspired celebration of American cultural diversity".--"School Library Journal". ALA Notable Book; Texas Bluebonnet Award. Full color.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-- An inspired celebration of American cultural diversity in English and Spanish. Lomas Garza presents a charming series of paintings while relating remembrances of her childhood in Kingsville, Texas, near the Mexican border. The brilliantly colored images teem with life and exude the glow of nostalgia. Lomas Garza's vignettes are similar in their primitive folk style to those of Grandma Moses. Whether it's the family eating watermelon on the porch, Grandfather taking a skinned rabbit into the kitchen for dinner, or a dead hammerhead shark on the beach, each moment is fully captured in all its freshness and immediacy. The English text is simple and reads smoothly, but it is Zubizarreta's Spanish rendition that has real verve and style. From the exquisite cut-paper images on the text pages, to the brilliant paintings, to the strong family bonds expressed in the text, Family Pictures/Cuadros de familia is a visual feast, and an aural delight. --Ann Welton, University Child Development School, Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Today, with her family's continuous support, courage and dedication, Carmen Garza's hopes for a brilliant future as an artist have become a reality. In gratitude to those who helped her achieve this goal, Mexican-American Garza has generously afforded readers a glimpse of her cherished childhood in a poor rural Hispanic community. Her daily activities and fond memories are related in paintings that celebrate birthdays, making tamales and finding a hammerhead shark on the beach. The vibrant, canvaslike illustrations, accentuated with ``papel picado''--images on the text pages--evoke powerful feelings of Garza's love for family and community despite the hardships she encountered while growing up. Readers of various ethnic origins should use this exemplary bilingual book as a litmus test for exploring diversities of multicultural lifestyles; Family Pictures will shed some much-needed light on society's cultural barriers. Ages 6-12. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In a bilingual text, a young girl reminisces about family life while growing up in Texas in a Mexican-American culture. Realistic and interesting art. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Lomas Garza, a widely exhibited Chicano artist, chooses a primitive style for these visual reminiscences of her childhood in Kingsville, Texas, near the Mexican border. Backgrounds are stylized, perspectives flattened, figures rather wooden but carefully incorporated into the decorative ordering of her designs. These paintings vividly evoke the Mexican-American community, including several activities that will be unfamiliar to children in other regions (e.g., picking nopal cactus). A couple of scenes are earthy--Grandmother killing a chicken; Grandfather with a bloodstained apron and a newly skinned rabbit--but the dominant theme is the warm security of life in this extended Chicano family. Lomas Garza described the subjects of her paintings to Harriet Rohmer, who has adapted her comments as text; the parallel Spanish version given on each page is by Rosalma Zubizarreta. An authentic glimpse of Hispanic culture in the Southwest; a beautiful book distinguished by the clean, crisp style and bright, harmonious colors of its art. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-7, younger for reading aloud. The celebrated Mexican-American artist shares memories of her childhood in Kingsville, Texas, through 14 boldly colored, stylized paintings depicting the traditions of her family and community life. A fair in Mexico, the author's sixth birthday party, and a visit from a curandera (healer) represent a few of the scenes presented. Each painting is rich in cultural detail, and the accompanying commentary, printed in both Spanish and English, expands and personalizes the artwork. These glimpses into Lomas Garza's life--from ages five to twelve--show the vitality of her loving extended family and conclude with a moving tribute to her mother, who encouraged her to become an artist by "[laying] out the bed for our dreams of the future."