Latin American Literature- Book Review Three

Garza, Carmen Lomas. In my Family/En Mi Familia. San Francisco, California: Children's Book Press, 1996.

The picture book titled In My Family/En Mi Familia is both written and illustrated by Carmen Lomas Garza. This book is about the authors personal childhood memories of her life growing up as a Mexican American child in Kingsville, Texas. Each page portrays a different memory, story, or experience and is accompanied by a full page painting that depicts what is being described. The detailed pictures and descriptions take readers through various aspects of the authors childhood. From birthday barbecues to family traditions to spiritual beliefs, Carmen Lomas Garza's memories, heritage, and cultural experiences are revealed. 

This book is an authentic and accurate piece of Latin American children's literature. As an insider author, Garza portrays many aspects of Latin American culture and more specifically, Mexican American culture. In My Family/En Mi Familia is a bilingual story. Each page has English text on the top and Spanish text on the bottom. The English text sometimes has Spanish words added into the text. For instance, when describing the person Garza calls the healer, she says, "This is Dona Maria, a curandera or healer." This clearly allows English readers to see that curandera means healer without taking away from the fluency of the text. It also adds authenticity to the text relative to the culture. Many traditions and beliefs are portrayed in this book as well. Traditions such as getting together once a year to bake empanadas and the tradition Garza describes as "the wedding day blessing" are specific to this culture. Other traditions such as decorating Easter eggs and having birthday parties are also portrayed and are not only specific to the Latin American or Mexican American culture. This adds to the realistic aspect of the story because it portrays the idea that while cultural traditions are highly valued in this culture, they also partake in things that may be viewed as "typical" American practices or values. Beliefs related to spiritual and religious aspects are portrayed positively. The way the author describes the healer who rid her sister of rebellion and the way she tells the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe was done so in a respectful way. Lastly, the strong family ties that is common to this culture is portrayed throughout the book in the text as well as the pictures.