Agua, Aguita : Water, Little Water (Bilingual English/Spanish Edition)

“My name / is Water / but everyone / calls me Little Water.” In this beautiful, poetic ode to the life-giving force of water, award-winning children’s book author Jorge Argueta describes—in English, Spanish and Nahuat—the life cycle of water from the perspective of one drop.
From its birth deep in Mother Earth, Little Water climbs to the surface, passing through roots and rocks, light and darkness. Finally, the tiny bead of water makes it to the top and rests, “a sigh of morning dew,” hanging on “the tips of leaves / on spider webs / or on the petals / of flowers.” The droplet becomes a river, a lake, an ocean, ultimately climbing to the sky and turning into a cloud. Then, “drop by drop / I return singing / to our Mother Earth. I am Little Water. / I am life.”
With stunningly beautiful illustrations by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara that depict the mountains, rocks, vegetation and animals of the natural world, this poem about the importance of water reflects Argueta’s indigenous roots and his appreciation for nature. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta’s Pipil-Nahua ancestors. This book is an excellent choice to encourage children to write their own poems about the natural world and to begin conversations about the interconnected web of life.

“Mi nombre / es Agua / pero todos / me llaman Aguacita”. En esta hermosa y poética oda a la fuerza vivificante del agua, el galardonado autor de libros infantiles Jorge Argueta describe, en inglés, español y náhuat, el ciclo de vida del agua desde la perspectiva de una gota.

Desde su nacimiento en lo profundo de la Madre Tierra, la Pequeña Agua sube a la superficie, atravesando raíces y rocas, luz y oscuridad. Finalmente, la diminuta gota de agua llega a la cima y descansa, “un suspiro de rocío de la mañana”, colgando de “las puntas de las hojas / de las telas de araña / o de los pétalos / de las flores”. La gota se convierte en un río, un lago, un océano y finalmente sube al cielo y se convierte en una nube. Luego, “gota a gota / vuelvo cantando / a nuestra Madre Tierra. Soy Pequeña Agua. / Soy vida."