Iguanas in the Snow: And Other Winter Poems / Iguanas En la Nieve: Y Otros Poemas de Invierno FROM THE PUBLISHER
This collection invites us to celebrate winter — by the seashore, in the city of San Francisco, and in the ancient redwood forests of the Sierras. We see a city where people have become bridges to each other and children sing in two languages. A family frolic in the snow reminds the poet of the iguanas playing by his grandmother�s house in Mexico. The seedling redwoods promise �tomorrow.� Maya Christina Gonzalez creates a spirited family of children and adults making their way through lively settings.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Francisco X. Alarcbon celebrates a San Francisco winter in Iguanas in the Snow: And Other Winter Poems/ Iguanas en la nieve: y otros poemas de invierno. The title poem describes a family delighted "to see snow/ for the first time/ on the Sierra Nevada/ all dressed in white/ like a bride." Illustrator Maya Christina Gonzalez captures the vibrant colors of the city and its people; English and Spanish verses sit side by side. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
If you have never seen an iguana in the snow, look again. Joyful sledders in black inner tubes look like the reptiles if they wear clothing purchased on sale at the army surplus. Engaging free verse poems, written in both English and Spanish, dance across delightfully artful pages. The poems celebrate life in California, in San Francisco, and in the barrio. One voice dreams of a special city where people become bridges to each other. The primary theme of the collection is about the winter season when some children can romp in the snow, but it is also a time when the migrant worker's children must return to Mexico. They wave good-bye and ask us to remember them when we take our first bite of the delicious fruit they picked. The poems and colorful paintings are executed with exceptional charm and imagination. Children will enjoy searching for the iguanas hidden in the pictures. Three additional books by the same team invite us to taste the joys of the other seasons. 2001, Children's Book Press, $15.95. Ages 4 to 10. Reviewer:Laura Hummel
School Library Journal
K-Gr 5-This fourth book in Alarc-n and Gonzalez's series of poems about seasons maintains the quality seen in the earlier titles. Brief, zippy verses express delight in such simple things as a family frolic in the snow and the wonder of giant redwoods. More than a series of poetic vignettes, however, this celebration of winter is an ode, as well, to San Francisco, a city where people are bridges to one another and a multiplicity of languages are heard. The selections are short of line and long on meter, with a rhythmic roll that begs reading aloud. It is one of Alarc-n's strengths that he makes both the reading and the writing of poetry accessible. His work serves as an excellent pattern for teaching students to write about their own experiences. Better in Spanish, where the swing of the language and the internal rhyme give a more definite shape, the English verses still surprise in their fresh use of language and joyous voice. Gonzalez's illustrations are bright and busy, catching the playful cadence of the words.-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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