Family Stories/Cuentos Familiares

Reviewed by Anat Shenker, Univ. of California, Berkeley -- Críticas, 9/15/2006

Gr 1-4–Ambitious and laudable in concept, this title portrays the first person accounts of childhood anecdotes of 10 different Latino visual artists in the United States. The actual narrative delivery is somewhat less impressive; mainly because the stories are too short to have much depth. Ranging from discovering public art to mastering English as a second language, the themes covered are compelling and resonant to the Latino immigrant experience. However, such little space it allotted to each story—only half a page of text with the Spanish translation filling the other half—that the authors violate the basic storytelling rule of “show, don’t tell”—no small irony considering they are all artists. On the upside, the straightforward translations are clear and remain true to the original text. The appeal of this work lies in its illustrations, which occupy one full page next to each tale: they are a celebration of the rich variety of media, style, and tone among this group. While some pieces are traditional realistic representations of the action described, others offer stylized lithographs and collages that convey instead the mood of the narrative. This is an interesting, if not wholly compelling, work that will entertain older children engaged in exploring visual arts and the rich heritage of Latino culture. The accompanying biographies of the artists and their depicted visual talents might bolster the creative dreams of an aspiring artist.