(4) K-3 Translated by Janet Glass. Illustrated by Morteza Zahedi. Presented in both Spanish and English, short free-verse poems detail such small, memorable moments as feet in a lake or a walk alone. The best of the English translations preserve rhythmic flow despite the language shift, but some fall flat. Recurring imagery of suns and celestial objects is mirrored by Zahedi's stylized mixed-media illustrations and by the yellow or blue page colors.

Reviewer: Siena Leslie

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Fernando Vilela. A young boy prepares rice pudding. Using vivid imagery, Argueta describes how the rice sings and the milk becomes a waterfall as it's added to the pot. The text can also serve as a recipe; stages for which an adult's help is necessary are marked. Vilela's blocky, swirling illustrations capture the text's magic.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng. This book takes a simple recipe, and through poetic metaphor, turns it into a celebration. Readers can actually make the soup by following the story (steps requiring adult assistance are marked); cheerful, cleanly composed illustrations interpret some of the stages. The Spanish and English versions of the text both use the magic of language to evoke the mystery of cooking.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 Translated by Elisa Amado. Illustrated by Margarita Sada. In this retelling of a Yoruba myth, God-child creates a cat named Oloyou. Oloyou falls into the "unending darkness" and has adventures that ultimately explain the origins of comets. This bilingual tale is too wordy (in both languages) to fully engage picture book readers, though they will nevertheless be mesmerized by the deep and flowing oil on canvas paintings.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham