by Jorge Argueta (Author) Felipe Ugalde Alcántara (Illustrator)
Felipe Ugalde Alcántara’s stunning illustrations depict streams, mountains and wildlife in their habitat. 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.
In the fourth installment of their award-winning Madre Tierra / Mother Earth series of trilingual picture books about the natural world, Jorge Argueta and Felipe Ugalde Alcántara collaborate again to introduce Mother Earth, who is “full of all the colors and all the flavors.” She is the mother of water, fire, wind and earth. Some call her planet, others nature or creation. “I am Mother Earth / a globe spinning around the sun, creating sunrises, sunsets and nights.” She is the song of all the plants and animals, she is “dew, snow, heat,” she is life.
Las impresionantes ilustraciones de Felipe Ugalde Alcántara representan arroyos, montañas y vida silvestre en su hábitat. El poema completo, que contiene el texto en inglés y español en cada página, aparece al final en náhuat, el idioma de los antepasados pipil-nahuas de Argueta.
En la cuarta entrega de su galardonada serie Madre Tierra / Mother Earth de libros ilustrados trilingües sobre el mundo natural, Jorge Argueta y Felipe Ugalde Alcántara colaboran nuevamente para presentar a la Madre Tierra, que está “llena de todos los colores y todos los sabores. " Ella es la madre del agua, el fuego, el viento y la tierra. Algunos la llaman planeta, otros naturaleza o creación. “Soy la Madre Tierra / un globo que gira alrededor del sol, creando amaneceres, atardeceres y noches”. Ella es el canto de todas las plantas y animales, ella es “rocío, nieve, calor”, ella es vida.
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PreS-Gr 2--Mother Earth is all around, in every mineral, plant, and animal--from dawn to sunset, from water to fire. Acclaimed Nahua poet Argueta follows up his previous nature-themed picture books (most recently Viento, vientito) with this rumination on Mother Earth with Indigenous cosmovision at its heart. The one- to five-line Spanish-language verses, set on a light brown background on the verso page, progress through the book as if the words in black type were living beings, pouring gratitude to the one mother of all. The verses are separated by Mesoamericanlike iconography. The English translation emulates the emotions of the Spanish narrative, expressing the message of the need for a healthy ecosystem. The colored pencil illustrations on the recto pages communicate the book's ambiance with detailed depictions that will resonate for children. This book could be read alongside Argueta's picture book Fuego, fueguito in a climate action or environmental-themed story time. The back matter includes the entire poem in Nahuatl. VERDICT An environmental picture book that connects young children with the positive emotions drawn from Mother Earth as the creator of all life.--Kathia Ibacache
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