"A series of verses, in English and Spanish, about the movement and moods of water around the world and the ways in which water affects a variety of landscapes and cultures. Includes Author's Note"--
"Water rolls / onto the shore / under the sun, under the moon. /El agua rueda/hacia la orilla/bajo el sol, bajo la luna." Fourteen three-line verses, in English and Spanish, celebrate water in its many forms, from frost and fog to waves and waterfalls. Each verse is accompanied by a majestic double-page-spread painting from a specific place in the world, from Arizona to Zambia, and a visual index at the end of the book tells us exactly which place inspired which painting. Illustrator So provides some unusual perspectives, such as the view from the dynamic waterline of a well, looking up into the faces of Kenyan village women who have just lowered their buckets. Place names are not mentioned in the poems themselves; rather, the poems speak to the wonders of water everywhere, whether it "rests, / drowsy in reservoirs" or "plunges, / in thunder's brash roar." Mora skillfully uses alliteration and assonance in the English versions of the poems ("Swirling in wisps, / water twists then it twirls"); this is mostly lost in the literal Spanish translations. However, sibilant consonants often offer a splash of onomatopoeia ("Girando en espirales, / el agua se enrosca y se retuerce"). In either language, the poems, read aloud, can be as dramatic as the accompanying illustrations.
--The Horn Book Magazine "The Horn Book Magazine "
In a bilingual tribute to water with a truly global scope, Mora's (I Pledge Allegiance) verse and So's (Brush of the Gods) spare mixed-media illustrations swing from placid to tempestuous, creating an effective and fitting ebb and flow. A description of a peaceful river scene inspired by the Yangtze ("Slow into rivers/ water slithers and snakes/ through silent canyons at twilight and dawn") contrasts with an evocation of a violent Patagonia sea ("In storms, water plunges/ in thunder's brash roar, / races through branches from lightning's white flash"). So's palette also shifts to suit the vista: children in Finland play by a brook framed by brilliant fall foliage, while smoky grays dominate a hushed scene featuring the human and feline residents of Venice, enshrouded in fog. Some of the images and allusions suggest water's life-sustaining power: men fish in India, Kenyan women fetch water from a well, and in the canals of Holland, "water streams, water slides, / gliding up roots of tulips and corn." An expressive celebration of the world's waterscapes.
--Publishers Weekly "Publishers Weekly "
Evocative watercolor images and graceful short poems in Spanish and English celebrate water in all its forms and around the world. What appears at first to be a simple expression of the myriad forms of water--from waves to clouds, fog and frost and in lazy marshes, churning rivers, breaking waves and more--becomes a trip around the world as readers come to realize that the locations and people shown are just as wide-ranging. A picture key at the end identifies the location for each illustration. The cover images, the front inspired by Victoria Falls in southern Africa and the back, a geyser in Iceland, set the stage for the variety inside. Mora's deceptively simple three-line poems are full of imagery, too. "In the murmur of marsh wind, / water slumbers on moss, / whispers soft songs far under frog feet." (In Spanish: "En el viento susurrante de los pantanos, / el agua duerme sobre el musgo, / murmura suaves canciones bajo patitas de ranas.") Watercolors are the perfect accompaniment to this pleasing collection, and So's mastery of her medium is evident in the wide range of her illustrations, some with lines and detail, others with bold brush strokes or delicate shading. She concludes with an image of our watery world and its dry moon from space, an important reminder. A lovely bilingual addition to the "sense of wonder" shelf.
--Kirkus Reviews "Kirkus Reviews "
This handsome, bilingual picture book transports children around the world to view water in many forms. In the first illustration, kids play at the beach along a rocky sea coast. In the next, people and cats walk through fog along a canal. A night scene depicts an encampment at a desert oasis. Each picture is paired with an evocative verse--e.g., "Slow into rivers, / water slithers and snakes / through silent canyons at twilight and dawn"--and its Spanish translation. Both the images and the evocative, poetic text and verse support the book's unifying theme of water as a shared resource that takes many forms. With a strong sense of line, form, and color, So creates a varied series of intriguing pictures, each with a strong sense of place. For readers wondering where in the world each scene is located, an appended guide offers a miniature of each illustration and identifies each place. A beautiful addition to classroom units on water and a useful gateway to global awareness.
--Booklist Magazine "Booklist Magazine "
