Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds

Starred review from October 24, 2016
Poems written in Spanish and English poignantly address the struggles of child refugees fleeing Central America for the U.S. Shifting among the viewpoints of several children, the poems recount the sadness of leaving old lives behind and the dangers of the journey: “Don’t let us fall/ into the hands of the migra,/ and never in the hands of the traffickers,” reads a prayer to Santo Toribio, “saint of the immigrants.” Ruano’s lush paintings feature surreal flourishes (a rooster in a track suit, tattooed gang members with cyclopean eyes) as well as haunting images of families crossing deserts and crowding onto trains. A sobering but hopeful collection. Ages 7–12.

With tenderness and humanity, this bilingual book describes the hopes, fears, and uncertainties of the thousands of displaced children that arrive every year at the southern border of the United States.Every year thousands of children from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico leave their home countries and undertake a perilous journey across hundreds of miles in the hope of reaching the United States. They are fleeing crushing poverty and the fear of violence. Some are fleeing with their families, some are hoping to be reunited with a parent or relative in the U.S., and some are leaving parents and siblings behind. How to portray such a hard and harsh reality? Employing free verse, Argueta manages to evoke moments and feelings, softening the rough edges while remaining true to his subject. In poems that follow the harrowing journey, readers keep pace with the children who narrate. They describe their hometowns, the dangers of life in gang-dominated areas, their decisions to leave, border crossings and indecision over whether to turn back or go on, the inhospitable landscapes they traverse only to be met in the end by the border patrol, and, finally, safety in their mothers' arms. Ruano's realistic artwork conveys an immediacy that complements and extends the poems, allowing readers not familiar with the experience to be able to "see" it. Poignant, heartbreaking, and, sadly, timely. (author's note) (Bilingual picture book/poetry. 8 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-Argueta likens the spirit of refugee and immigrant children from Central America and Mexico to the movement of clouds in this collection of bilingual poetry. Some of these poems successfully evoke the fear and anxiety generated by this exodus from violence and privation. The portrayal of the tattooed Salvadoran gangs in "El barrio la campanera" is particularly visceral. But most of the poems skirt the edge of urgency, creating an emotional disconnect. Apprehension by the U.S. border patrol is a dreaded terror refugees pray to avoid. But the poem "Nos presentamos a la patrulla" ("We Introduce Ourselves to the Border Patrol") couches the nightmare in terms of an innocuous meet-and-greet. In an introductory poem, "Mi barrio," the author describes a rooster eating a Popsicle ("paleta"), but Ruano features the rooster with a lollipop-the alternate definition of the word. This misinterpretation disrupts the cyclical nature of the Popsicle motif carried forth into the concluding poem. Furthermore, the brutal march across the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts claims countless lives every year, but the image depicted implies that the crossing is nothing more onerous than a day hike. VERDICT Despite flaws, this is a much-needed jumping-off point for elementary classroom discussions of refugees and immigration.-Mary Margaret Mercado, Pima County Public Library, Tucson, AZ

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2016
Grades 5-9 *Starred Review* Unaccompanied minors from Central America have been making the dangerous trek to the U.S. in search of their family and a safer life, and this collection of bilingual poems centers around the experiences of these children. Middle-grade and older readers alike will be able to connect to Argueta's carefully crafted first-person stories of immigration. In the same manner, Ruano gives a beautiful brown face to the children forced to flee violence in their home country, through his acrylic paintings, which range from the surreal to the realistic. The poem iPod is an excellent example of the powerful manner in which the words, both in English and Spanish, and illustrations work together. iPod is the name of a young boy who leaves everything behind, including his precious MP3 player, to travel north. Argueta and Ruano present a unique and much-needed perspective on the reasons driving young people to immigrate to the U.S., in particular the desire to reunite with family. The scarcity of Latino children's and young-adult books that center on Central American experiences makes this poignant poetry collection extremely vital. Similar books include Rene Colato Lainez's Waiting for Papa / Esperando a Papa (2004).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)