In My Family

Title:  In My Family / En Mi Familia

Author:  Carmen Lomas Garza

Awarded: Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

                 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List

                 International Reading Association Notable Book

Children’s Book Press (1996)

This book is really a collage of the author’s memories from her childhood.  She is first an artist, secondly a writer.  She painted pictures of her childhood, the cultural background of her family and then put stories to them.  She spoke of family traditions, religion, and food.  She tells of the Easter Eggs filled with confetti, the piñata at her sister’s birthday party and the blessing her cousin received from her mother on her wedding day.  The last two pages of the book contain a question and answer session with the author.  It gives the reader a glimpse into why she paints pictures and writes.  It also gives some insight into her personal thoughts.

The language and illustrations utilized in this book are very appropriate for elementary school age children.  The text is easy to read.  Each page has the story in both Spanish and English making it student friendly for a diverse classroom.  The language used is easily understandable.  The illustrations are colorful and depict scenes familiar to the Hispanic culture.  It is a celebration of all the good memories of her childhood, all the things that she grew up cherishing as her culture. 

This book is an accurate depiction of the Hispanic culture as it is painted and written through the eyes of someone who lived it her whole life.  She wanted to share that culture with others.  It was realistic.  It showed the positives of her heritage without dwelling on any of the negatives.  The illustrations (paintings) are consistent with what she remembers growing up.

For teachers of very young children it would be great for a read-aloud and class discussion.  It would be a little much for them to read on their own.  It would be appropriate for a little bit older elementary school student (maybe 3^rd – 5^th grade).  It definitely could be used in a Spanish class.