Family Pictures is the story of Carmen Lomas Garza's girlhood in Kingsville, Texas: celebrating birthdays, making tamales, picking cactus, and confiding to her sister her dreams of becoming an artist. These day-to-day experiences are told through fourteen paintings and stories, each focusing on a different aspect of Carmen’s traditional Mexican American culture growing up.
The paintings and stories reflect the author's strong sense of family and community and demonstrate how her mother's love and hard work helped Carmen achieve her dream. For the hundreds of thousands of Mexican Americans, Carmen Lomas Garza offers a book that reflects their lives and cultural traditions. For others, this beautiful work will offer insights into a fascinating life and a rich community.
Sandra Cisneros provided the introduction and Pat Mora the afterword for this touchstone of Latino children’s literature.
Carmen Lomas Garza is one of the foremost Mexican American painters. Her books published by Children's Book Press gained wide recognition for their accurate and loving portrayal of the Mexican American community in South Texas. Ms. Lomas' work, including her paintings and papel picado (cut-paper art), is exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and a Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She lives in San Francisco, California.
• American Library Association Notable Book
• 1996 Pura Belpré Honor Award
• 1990 School Library Journal "Best Books of the Year" Selection
• Library of Congress "Best Books of the Year" Selection
• Recommended by the Elementary School Library Collection
• Parent's Choice Noteworthy Book
"Family Pictures is a visual feast, and an aural delight." —School Library Journal
"A beautiful book distinguished by the clean, crisp style and bright, harmonious colors of its art." —Kirkus Reviews
"Look again, and again, and again—for the haphazard detail of these loving snapshots emerges slowly, and is worth searching for." —Los Angeles Times Book Review
"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." —Publishers Weekly
"An honest portrayal of a culture rarely seen in children's books, and every page offers a lot to look at." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Family Pictures is a must for any upper-elementary study of Mexican American culture and a wonderful addition to theme studies of home, family, or community in the primary grades."
—The Reading Teacher
"This book is refreshing and uplifting, an inspiration to readers about the true meaning of caring for others …the book deserves a wide audience." —MultiCultural Review
