A poet’s Nahua childhood engenders a halcyon homage through concise verses and inviting visuals.
A side-by-side-by-side trilingual collection of 20 poems acknowledges and commemorates Indigenous Nahuat language and culture.
Argueta, Poet Laureate Emeritus of San Mateo County, California, draws on his childhood in his native town of Witzapan, El Salvador, where his beloved grandmother taught him his first Nahuat words. “Despite all the injustices that the Nahua people have been subjected to and continue to experience, the Nahuat language still lives.” In the titular, opening poem, Argueta highlights how those first Nahuat words reflected his surroundings—including water, wind, fire, clay, stars, flowers, and Mother Earth herself. His verses recall his home village, with its Nahuat name meaning “river of thorns,” the Tepechapa River, which “can sing…can dream,” the welcomed rain, the growing corn, and the morning sun. He memorializes his grandmother with her rainbow skirt and traditional huipil (“so pretty”). To capture the “magical pathways” of Witzapan long past, Argueta writes in short bursts, often with repeated phrases, as if underscoring the simple power of nature and the indelible bonds of family. He composes in Spanish, Ramírez García translates into Nahuat, and Bell translates into English. Sánchez illuminates images inspired by “this marvelous language,” from vignettes depicting quiet moments between generations and glimpses of daily life to vibrant double-page spreads of enchanting memories. A trilingual glossary appears at book’s end.
A poet’s Nahua childhood engenders a halcyon homage through concise verses and inviting visuals. (Picture book/poetry. 7-13)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781773067810
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Affecting and hopeful.
A stray dog finds her destiny amid the chaos of a Southern California wildfire.
Wombat is a small dog with stubby legs and “silly ears / that look like furry cookies”—almost impossibly cute in Bricking’s occasional pencil-style vignettes. She’s mastered the art of survival, so when a mysterious internal voice prods her to go toward the fire, she resists. “The wrong way is the right way. / The right way is the wrong way,” the voice insists. When she tells fellow stray Silas about it, he tells Wombat she’s a “destiny dog,” bound to “find their person / before their person / can find them.” Convinced, she decides to follow the mysterious instructions. Meanwhile, Henry, a boy who’s leery of dogs, loves the bats at the wildlife rehabilitation center where Mama Ro, a veterinarian, works; his Mama J is a librarian. Henry and Barnabas, a fruit bat at the center, are both uprooted by the fire, and their paths converge with Wombat’s at an emergency shelter. The third-person perspective shifts from character to character in clusters of free-verse poems that fully immerse readers in each one’s experiences in turn. This extra-concentrated delivery of Applegate’s typically spare writing proves effective, balancing terror and sadness with heart and humor. Henry has light brown skin, Mama Ro has curly black hair and brown skin, and Mama J presents white.
Affecting and hopeful. (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780063221178
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.
Basketball-playing twins find challenges to their relationship on and off the court as they cope with changes in their lives.
Josh Bell and his twin, Jordan, aka JB, are stars of their school basketball team. They are also successful students, since their educator mother will stand for nothing else. As the two middle schoolers move to a successful season, readers can see their differences despite the sibling connection. After all, Josh has dreadlocks and is quiet on court, and JB is bald and a trash talker. Their love of the sport comes from their father, who had also excelled in the game, though his championship was achieved overseas. Now, however, he does not have a job and seems to have health problems the parents do not fully divulge to the boys. The twins experience their first major rift when JB is attracted to a new girl in their school, and Josh finds himself without his brother. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story.
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch. (Verse fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-10771-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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