![]() ![]() I feel that the child audience would be drawn to the vibrant illustrations in this book and that the text included is appropriate for the intended audience. Thus the information is “delineated through the pictures.” The text presents a positive and authentic portrayal of Latino culture as it is written by a Latina author. Each illustration embodies what the text describes. And the use of papel picado demonstrates “appropriateness of style of illustration to the concept” of the text. Through the text, she not only describes her art, but details Mexican culture as well as her natural environment. Garza is both the author and illustrator of this text, so the integration of text and image is flawless. In addressing whether this text meets the criteria for the Pura Belpre Award for Illustration, as mentioned above, Garza displays “excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed”-papel picado. This would be a fun art project with students and the book paired with the art could serve as a brief introduction to Mexican culture. The patterns Garza provides in Making Magic Windows are much more simplistic than the ones she creates however, I’m sure if you got the itch to try something more complex, you could. And if your curiosity takes you one step further-wanting to create your own papel picado-there is actually a companion book called Making Magic Windows that provides instructions on making your own papel picado. Overall, this book is informative and contains incredibly detailed illustrations that leave the reader wondering how Garza created such masterpieces using only one sheet of paper. Additionally, Mexican culture is known for its combination of many bight colors, especially in home decor, so this may have motivated the color choices as well. But in Garza’s defense, her forte is clearly papel picado. ![]() In my opinion, this book does not use color as effectively as Nic Bishop’s Butterflies and Moths, which employs a similar coloring technique. Sometimes, the cohesiveness of the spreads is diminished by the presence of too many colors or too many variations on a single color. When the headings on the page opposite the illustration are the color of the background behind the papel picado, it’s aesthetically pleasing and ties the illustration to the text through color. The stark contrast makes the colors and the cut-paper pop off the page. For me, the most effective illustrations in the book are the ones made with black cut paper set against a single bold color. It can also be created from multiple paper panels, set together to create one large piece of artwork. Garza opens the book by explaining cut-paper art, which is typically an image created from a single piece of cut paper. Although this book might seem overly complex from my description, it actually flows quite well. Magic Windows by Carmen Lomas Garza accomplishes three tasks: it teaches the reader about Mexican culture and tradition, tells stories about Garza’s life, and explains how she created each of the papel picado (cut-paper art) illustrations in the book-a tall order for any children’s book. It won the Pura Belpré Award for Illustration in 2000. This book is intended for children ages 4-8. ![]()
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