Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth (Madre Tierra / Mother Earth Bilingual English/Spanish)

by Jorge Argueta (Author) Felipe Ugalde Alcántara (Illustrator)

Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth (Madre Tierra / Mother Earth Bilingual English/Spanish)
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Felipe Ugalde Alcántara’s stunning illustrations depict streams, mountains and wildlife in their habitat. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta’s Pipil-Nahua ancestors.

In the fourth installment of their award-winning Madre Tierra / Mother Earth series of trilingual picture books about the natural world, Jorge Argueta and Felipe Ugalde Alcántara collaborate again to introduce Mother Earth, who is “full of all the colors and all the flavors.” She is the mother of water, fire, wind and earth. Some call her planet, others nature or creation. “I am Mother Earth / a globe spinning around the sun, creating sunrises, sunsets and nights.” She is the song of all the plants and animals, she is “dew, snow, heat,” she is life.


Las impresionantes ilustraciones de Felipe Ugalde Alcántara representan arroyos, montañas y vida silvestre en su hábitat. El poema completo, que contiene el texto en inglés y español en cada página, aparece al final en náhuat, el idioma de los antepasados ​​​​pipil-nahuas de Argueta.

En la cuarta entrega de su galardonada serie Madre Tierra / Mother Earth de libros ilustrados trilingües sobre el mundo natural, Jorge Argueta y Felipe Ugalde Alcántara colaboran nuevamente para presentar a la Madre Tierra, que está “llena de todos los colores y todos los sabores. " Ella es la madre del agua, el fuego, el viento y la tierra. Algunos la llaman planeta, otros naturaleza o creación. “Soy la Madre Tierra / un globo que gira alrededor del sol, creando amaneceres, atardeceres y noches”. Ella es el canto de todas las plantas y animales, ella es “rocío, nieve, calor”, ella es vida.

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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--Mother Earth is all around, in every mineral, plant, and animal--from dawn to sunset, from water to fire. Acclaimed Nahua poet Argueta follows up his previous nature-themed picture books (most recently Viento, vientito) with this rumination on Mother Earth with Indigenous cosmovision at its heart. The one- to five-line Spanish-language verses, set on a light brown background on the verso page, progress through the book as if the words in black type were living beings, pouring gratitude to the one mother of all. The verses are separated by Mesoamericanlike iconography. The English translation emulates the emotions of the Spanish narrative, expressing the message of the need for a healthy ecosystem. The colored pencil illustrations on the recto pages communicate the book's ambiance with detailed depictions that will resonate for children. This book could be read alongside Argueta's picture book Fuego, fueguito in a climate action or environmental-themed story time. The back matter includes the entire poem in Nahuatl. VERDICT An environmental picture book that connects young children with the positive emotions drawn from Mother Earth as the creator of all life.--Kathia Ibacache

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Jorge Argueta
JORGUE ARGUETA, a Pipil Nahua Indian, is a prize-winning poet and author of more than twenty children's picture books, including Una película en mi almohada / A Movie in My Pillow (Children's Book Press, 2001) and Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds (Groundwood Books, 2016), which won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and was named to USBBY's Outstanding International Book List, the ALA Notable Children's Books and the Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices. His books in the Madre Tierra / Mother Earth series are Viento, Vientito / Wind, Little Wind (Piñata Books, 2022); Fuego, Fueguito / Fire, Little Fire (Piñata Books, 2019) and Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water (Piñata Books, 2017), winner of the inaugural Campoy-Ada Award in Children's Poetry given by the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española. The California Association for Bilingual Education honored him with its Courage to Act Award. Jorge is the founder of The International Children's Poetry Festival Manyula and The Library of Dreams, a non-profit organization that promotes literacy in his native El Salvador. Jorge divides his time between San Francisco, California, and El Salvador. FELIPE UGALDE ALCANTARA, a Mexico City native, illustrated Viento, Vientito / Wind, Little Wind (Piñata Books, 2022); Fuego, Fueguito / Fire, Little Fire (Piñata Books, 2019); Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water (Piñata Books, 2017); Mother Fox and Mr. Coyote / Mamá Zorra y Don Coyote (Piñata Books, 2004); and Little Crow to the Rescue / El Cuervito al rescate (Piñata Books, 2005).
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781558859678
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Pianata Books
Publication date
May 20, 2023
Series
Madre Tierra / Mother Earth
BISAC categories
JUV029000 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | General
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
JUV070000 - Juvenile Fiction | Poetry (see also Stories in Verse)
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Spanish language materials
Bilingual
Nature
Poetry
Bilingeue
Bilingual books
Materiales en espaanol, Bilingeues
Landscapes
Poesaia
Naturaleza
Materias en espaanol
Libros bilingeues
Paisajes

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