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Magic Windows/Ventanas magicas
Through the magic windows of her cut-paper art, Carmen shows us her family, her life as an artist, and the legends of her Aztec past. An accompanying workbook is described below.
30 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Carmen Lomas Garza
8 books8 followersCarmen Lomas Garza was born in Kingsville, Texas, in 1948. Inspired by her parent's activism with the American G.I. Forum, Garza joined the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
She is a graduate of the Texas Arts & Industry University, Juarez-Lincoln/Antioch Graduate School, and San Francisco State University where she earned her M.A. in 1981. Garza is a recipient of numerous awards and has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the United States.
She is a graduate of the Texas Arts & Industry University, Juarez-Lincoln/Antioch Graduate School, and San Francisco State University where she earned her M.A. in 1981. Garza is a recipient of numerous awards and has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the United States.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 24, 2016
Every page of this book is filled with a beautiful image as if you were looking through a window. To compliment the picture, there is text both in English and in Spanish. The text tells the story of what is happening in the window you are looking through. The author used cut-paper art to create the window images. This art of cut-paper has a long history in Mexico and a skill that was passed down to her from her grandmother. She uses these magic windows to be able to see through them into another world.
October 11, 2022
Family culture.
Language culture.
Art Culture.
This fully bilingual text of short short stories helps children to become familiar with things of South Texas culture of Spanish speakers.
Food ways.
Art ways.
Death ways.
Animals seen.
Food growing seen
What I particularly enjoyed.
* The short short stories that tell of the physical culture of Spanish speakers not mid 20-th century and into today.
* The rendering of parts.of Carmen Lomas Garza's paintings into paper cutouts.
* At the very end of the book, Carmen Lomas Garza (CLG) shows us an altar she made in honor of her grandfather Antonio Lomas. This altar showcase the quality of CLG's paper cutouts and show some of the death ways described in the text.
A delight to read and consider.
Read.for Hispanic History Month.
Language culture.
Art Culture.
This fully bilingual text of short short stories helps children to become familiar with things of South Texas culture of Spanish speakers.
Food ways.
Art ways.
Death ways.
Animals seen.
Food growing seen
What I particularly enjoyed.
* The short short stories that tell of the physical culture of Spanish speakers not mid 20-th century and into today.
* The rendering of parts.of Carmen Lomas Garza's paintings into paper cutouts.
* At the very end of the book, Carmen Lomas Garza (CLG) shows us an altar she made in honor of her grandfather Antonio Lomas. This altar showcase the quality of CLG's paper cutouts and show some of the death ways described in the text.
A delight to read and consider.
Read.for Hispanic History Month.
March 29, 2010
This book is intended for children ages 4-8. The text is in both English and Spanish. It won the Pura Belpré Award for Illustration in 2000.
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. Although this book might seem overly complex from my description, it actually flows quite well. Garza opens the book by explaining cut-paper art, which is typically an image created from a single piece of cut paper. It can also be created from multiple paper panels, set together to create one large piece of artwork. For me, the most effective illustrations in the book are the ones made with black cut paper set against a single bold color. The stark contrast makes the colors and the cut-paper pop off the page. 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.
Sometimes, the cohesiveness of the spreads is diminished by the presence of too many colors or too many variations on a single color. In my opinion, this book does not use color as effectively as Nic Bishop’s Butterflies and Moths, which employs a similar coloring technique. But in Garza’s defense, her forte is clearly papel picado. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. Garza is both the author and illustrator of this text, so the integration of text and image is flawless. Through the text, she not only describes her art, but details Mexican culture as well as her natural environment. And the use of papel picado demonstrates “appropriateness of style of illustration to the concept” of the text. Each illustration embodies what the text describes. 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. 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. Children might also enjoy creating their own papel picado after being exposed to this art form through Magic Windows.
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. Although this book might seem overly complex from my description, it actually flows quite well. Garza opens the book by explaining cut-paper art, which is typically an image created from a single piece of cut paper. It can also be created from multiple paper panels, set together to create one large piece of artwork. For me, the most effective illustrations in the book are the ones made with black cut paper set against a single bold color. The stark contrast makes the colors and the cut-paper pop off the page. 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.
Sometimes, the cohesiveness of the spreads is diminished by the presence of too many colors or too many variations on a single color. In my opinion, this book does not use color as effectively as Nic Bishop’s Butterflies and Moths, which employs a similar coloring technique. But in Garza’s defense, her forte is clearly papel picado. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. Garza is both the author and illustrator of this text, so the integration of text and image is flawless. Through the text, she not only describes her art, but details Mexican culture as well as her natural environment. And the use of papel picado demonstrates “appropriateness of style of illustration to the concept” of the text. Each illustration embodies what the text describes. 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. 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. Children might also enjoy creating their own papel picado after being exposed to this art form through Magic Windows.
Read
July 5, 2016We are very fortunate in that our students take a foreign language in lower school (beginning in Kindergarten). The purpose of the program is not to create bilingual students, but to give the children exposure to another language and develop an ear for other languages. They can choose from French and Spanish (I really wish there were more options). I discovered this year that our Spanish teacher bought some books featuring Latina characters and a few bilingual books and while I tend to buy books that I want to use every year in my lessons and totally understood her impulse, I also felt a little like the library had let her down! We have a small collection of Spanish language and Latinx culture books, but it could be a little richer. So, now I’m keeping my eye out for books that can build that collection too. (So many places to build up the collection!)
I came across Magic Windows in a blog post somewhere and was intrigued and was rewarded with a fascinating book. It’s part family memoir, part art instruction, part culture introduction. Each page features a cut paper illustration that Garza has done with an explanation of what the picture is depicting. She also goes into her family history a bit with them, encourages the reader by sharing tidbits about making the papel picado, and shares some of the culture around various iconography. Each page features a few short paragraphs with this information in English and in Spanish.
Due to the length of the book I would say it’s better suited to older grades (second and up), but you could easily share a page or two with younger students. It would be a great jumping off point for an study into cut paper illustration and art. You could also pair it with books illustrated by Nikki McClure who uses a similar technique. It would also go well with a study of families and how we talk about them, honor them, celebrate them, and share our traditions and memories.
I came across Magic Windows in a blog post somewhere and was intrigued and was rewarded with a fascinating book. It’s part family memoir, part art instruction, part culture introduction. Each page features a cut paper illustration that Garza has done with an explanation of what the picture is depicting. She also goes into her family history a bit with them, encourages the reader by sharing tidbits about making the papel picado, and shares some of the culture around various iconography. Each page features a few short paragraphs with this information in English and in Spanish.
Due to the length of the book I would say it’s better suited to older grades (second and up), but you could easily share a page or two with younger students. It would be a great jumping off point for an study into cut paper illustration and art. You could also pair it with books illustrated by Nikki McClure who uses a similar technique. It would also go well with a study of families and how we talk about them, honor them, celebrate them, and share our traditions and memories.
November 30, 2016
1. the Author of this book pairs pictures made from paper cutouts and explores the life and culture of Mexican life. The book has both English and Spanish and show the values she was taught that inspired each piece of art.
2. Grades K-3
3. I would teach this to students when talking about cultures or talents.
4. Students who like to craft things would find this book enjoyable. Since the author uses her own art form to tell a story.
5. Small groups could try and create a picture using the same technique used in the book.
6. I would have students write about their values and explain what they mean to them.
7. The Secret Stars
8. There is a print out activity that shows how to make art like the Author.
2. Grades K-3
3. I would teach this to students when talking about cultures or talents.
4. Students who like to craft things would find this book enjoyable. Since the author uses her own art form to tell a story.
5. Small groups could try and create a picture using the same technique used in the book.
6. I would have students write about their values and explain what they mean to them.
7. The Secret Stars
8. There is a print out activity that shows how to make art like the Author.
March 26, 2012
This beautiful cut-paper book offers up both Spanish and English to convey memories of the author's family life and culture. It was gorgeous visually, informative culturally, and fulfilling emotionally.
December 19, 2016
Magic Windows/Ventanas mágicas
by Carmen Lomas Garza (Illustrator)
Paper Cut Pictures with Love
This beautiful book shares art, culture, family, and language, building an appreciation for all. Beautiful work!
by Carmen Lomas Garza (Illustrator)
Paper Cut Pictures with Love
This beautiful book shares art, culture, family, and language, building an appreciation for all. Beautiful work!
March 18, 2019
The art is just spectacular, all cut paper. The vignettes are interesting, and it’s a pretty robust bilingual book (all text is in Spanish too, not just a few vocabulary words).
October 13, 2021
Lovely examples and explanations on how artist made various papel picado. Use with Carmela Full of Wishes and Perfectly Perfect Wish.
January 13, 2026
Using papel picado (cut-paper art), Carmen Lomas Garza shares memories of Mexico’s animals and traditions, as well as special times spent with her family. Carmen won the 2000 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award for her work on this book. Read more about it on my blog: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress....
July 18, 2019
The paper cutouts and descriptions were so cool!
April 19, 2026
Interesting look at papel picado as a way of exploring the life and history that inspires Garza's art.
November 15, 2009
Magic Windows was the recipient of the Pura Belpré Award in 2000. The award is in recognition of Latino or Latina writer/illustrators whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children. Magic Windows is an excellent choice as a recipient of this award. The illustrations are actually images of the author/artist’s cut-paper artworks . The art form is part of the Chicano tradition that Carmen’s grandmother taught her at a very young age. Each two page spread contains a paper cutting and text in matching vibrant colors in both English and Spanish. The text describes both the process of making the art and the personal and cultural meanings in the imagery depicted.
The cutouts show her grandfather cutting cactus and watering his garden. They show imagery from El Día de los Muertos - skeletons dancing under the stars, and Carmen’s family making paper flowers to decorate the tombstones of their remembered ancestors. There is a cutout of Carmen’s mother’s hands making tortillas. Carmen says that her art “pieces are like magic windows. When you look through them, you can see into another world.” This book is the perfect opportunity for a reader to expose themselves to the beauty and richness of the Latino culture. It would also serve well for intermediate students of Spanish.
The cutouts show her grandfather cutting cactus and watering his garden. They show imagery from El Día de los Muertos - skeletons dancing under the stars, and Carmen’s family making paper flowers to decorate the tombstones of their remembered ancestors. There is a cutout of Carmen’s mother’s hands making tortillas. Carmen says that her art “pieces are like magic windows. When you look through them, you can see into another world.” This book is the perfect opportunity for a reader to expose themselves to the beauty and richness of the Latino culture. It would also serve well for intermediate students of Spanish.
July 3, 2010
In Magic Windows by Carmen Lomas Garza, Garza combines not only her writing ability and her family history but she also connects her family-taught ability of cut-paper art so not only reveal her family history but to illustrate her story.
Garza emphasizes her culture with illustrations made solely by cutting paper into intricate designs of her family and their history. Along with learning of Garza’s family, we see how her customs make her the person she is. Along with explaining her family and her culture with her words, Garza points out the technical details of her cut-paper art. When the reader scrutinizes the artwork, the Aztec culture is revealed. Just as every piece of the cut-paper-art has to be connected to form the picture, so Garza’s life, culture, and art are connected to reveal who Carmen Lomas Garza is as a person, author, and artist. The designs truly are magic windows.
Garza emphasizes her culture with illustrations made solely by cutting paper into intricate designs of her family and their history. Along with learning of Garza’s family, we see how her customs make her the person she is. Along with explaining her family and her culture with her words, Garza points out the technical details of her cut-paper art. When the reader scrutinizes the artwork, the Aztec culture is revealed. Just as every piece of the cut-paper-art has to be connected to form the picture, so Garza’s life, culture, and art are connected to reveal who Carmen Lomas Garza is as a person, author, and artist. The designs truly are magic windows.
August 10, 2011
Magic Windows is a nonfiction book in which the author introduces the reader to the Mexican traditional art form of papel picado which is cut-paper art. The author accompanies each picture with a simple narrative in English and in Spanish that tells about the picture and the author’s Mexican-American culture. The pieces of art are like magic windows because they allow the reader to see the author’s world through her eyes. The subjects of her art represent her culture, like Dance for the Day of the Dead. The author engages the reader’s interest with the bold black lines of the art displayed on full pages in the book. The pages are bright and colorful and also help catch the reader’s attention. On the opposite page are the English and Spanish narratives. The narratives are short and direct. The simplicity of the layout helps communicate the subject matter clearly and effectively. It allows the reader to focus on the picture and then on the narrative that tells about it.
December 22, 2010
This book was a 2000 Pura Belpre Award winner for illustrations, and I can see why. Carmen Lomas Garza created these incredibly detailed paper cuttings from one sheet of paper, and it's described as "tissue paper," which means it's probably fragile and easily ripped. That makes it all the more amazing to me that she can create such intricate and large pictures (see the photo at the back of her book of one of her papercuttings on display). They also have to be carefully planned, so that everything is connected. Wish I had talent like that! My favorite is the deer in the corn. However, in addition to displaying her papercuttings, Garza also talks about Mexican customs, her childhood, and Mexican plants and animals, adding further interest to the book. I should also add that the book is in Spanish and English. Recommended, especially for kids who like crafts.
March 17, 2014
Garza, Carmen Lomas, Magic Windows, Children’s Book Press, 1999, nonfiction literature,2nd – 6th, lexile AD710L, rating 5
In this book, the author shares her Mexican family traditions and illustrates them with cut-paper art she has created.
I rate this 5. This book is written in English and has Spanish translations on each page, which is great to all audiences, especially Latinos, to read a book with joint cultures. The cut-paper art illustrations are almost hard for me to believe that the author actually cut them out by hand using a craft knife. The rich detail and intricate designs are beautiful and one can truly see into another world through a new lenses.
In this book, the author shares her Mexican family traditions and illustrates them with cut-paper art she has created.
I rate this 5. This book is written in English and has Spanish translations on each page, which is great to all audiences, especially Latinos, to read a book with joint cultures. The cut-paper art illustrations are almost hard for me to believe that the author actually cut them out by hand using a craft knife. The rich detail and intricate designs are beautiful and one can truly see into another world through a new lenses.
July 18, 2016
Carmen Lomas Garza uses her cut paper illustrations as ways to introduce various parts of Mexican culture.
This is a much shorter book than it looks, primarily because the text is repeated, appearing both in English and Spanish. Garza's cut paper artwork is incredible. Seriously, I can't believe what she can do with a knife and a sheet of paper! And she does a good job of giving a broad introduction to various parts of Mexican culture that kids would find interesting. A good multicultural pick.
This is a much shorter book than it looks, primarily because the text is repeated, appearing both in English and Spanish. Garza's cut paper artwork is incredible. Seriously, I can't believe what she can do with a knife and a sheet of paper! And she does a good job of giving a broad introduction to various parts of Mexican culture that kids would find interesting. A good multicultural pick.
Read
April 9, 2012Garza, Carmen Lomas. Magic Windows/ Ventanas Magicas. (1999)
Annotation: Each page has an picture of cut- paper art and a description of what the picture is about in English and in Spanish.
Themes: Mexico, Family, art, Mexican traditions
Ways to use with children:You could use this in a study of Mexico or in an art class that will be making cut- paper art of their own. A Spanish teacher could also use this book since the text is written in English and in Spanish.
Recommended age:6- 18
Annotation: Each page has an picture of cut- paper art and a description of what the picture is about in English and in Spanish.
Themes: Mexico, Family, art, Mexican traditions
Ways to use with children:You could use this in a study of Mexico or in an art class that will be making cut- paper art of their own. A Spanish teacher could also use this book since the text is written in English and in Spanish.
Recommended age:6- 18
June 6, 2010
I was amazed by Magic Windows/Ventanas magicas by Carmen Lomas Garza. It shows you how to do papel picado/cut-paper art step by step with scissors and a craft knife. I had seen papel picado before but I never knew how it was done. This book is excellent because it shows you by following the steps. It even gives you scissor and craft knife safety rules to follow.
October 8, 2015
This was another chance to see the wonderful art work of Carmen Lomas Garza with her bits of memories. Her art is almost always related to her family or culture in some way and her text explains the significance of the art. I loved seeing the intricate paper picado and will share the pictures with my students as we prepare for Dia de los niños.
November 18, 2015
This is a wonderful book about ancestors and the story of what families mean. This is a biography that teaches lessons at the same time about culture and family. The pictures are engaging because they are done by an actual artist and the colors are fantastic. A great book for lessons with bilingual students or a cultural lesson.
Read
April 10, 2011I love this book because you could use this book to study different forms of art and the cultural background of the art. I would read this book to students and then have them make their own "papel picado" or cut-paper art.
June 25, 2012
Kind of an interesting book. I really liked the illustrations, which were all photos of her paper cutouts, and very lovely. However, there's really no story. She just tells what the picture is about and how she made it. its kind of boring.
July 31, 2011
I did not read all the text, rather I paraphrased it. We looked at the paper cuttings and discussed them. I did not think the text was incredibly interesting.
March 29, 2012
Garza shares her life and family through her cut paper art drawings
June 21, 2013
2000 Belpre Illustrator Winner
I'm very shocked this was the winner....
I'm very shocked this was the winner....
August 6, 2015
Pura Belpré Award for Illustration (2000)
Part cut-art, part autobiographical story, each of the vignettes has a different story and meaning. Side by side english and spanish versions of the text.
Part cut-art, part autobiographical story, each of the vignettes has a different story and meaning. Side by side english and spanish versions of the text.
February 12, 2016
Traditional ways to decorate a window. What do you think?
May 5, 2009
A sweet book with beautiful cut out paper illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews