Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia

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 fifteen 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. This book is bilingual (English and Spanish).

Pat Mora, poet and author, has written more than thirty children's books. She is a popular national speaker and the founder of the family literacy initiative El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), sponsored by ALA. Mora's books have won numerous awards and honors, and she is a recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award and presented the ALA's 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture. Mora lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her website is patmora.com.