This is a collection of poetry about summer. In the afterward the poet Francisco Alarcón writes, For me, Mexico was and still isn enchanted land where all senses come alive: colors are more colorful, tastes are tastier." The poems are about everyday observations, including the title poem :From the Bellybutton of the Moon," inspired by the fact that the poet's grandmother tells him that Mexico translates to mean the bellybutton of the moon. After learning this, when the poet says Mexico, "I feel like touching/my bellybutton. Each poem contain many sensory details, bringing summer to life.

I'm enjoying all four of these celebrations. I really wish I was a teacher so I could share these poems in two languages with kids. Ages 4 to 104 can appreciate them, and the gloriously fun art that illustrates them. Students of either Spanish or English as a second language would have fun using this as a resource.

The themes of this relate to visiting family, as most poems are memories of a child's visit to his family's home town in Mexico. Some of the poems are almost a page long, almost narrative, and some are more like haikus, so there's something for everyone.

I particularly liked this metaphor, explicitly illuminating the theme of family:

_*We Are Trees*_

our roots
connect

with the roots
of other trees

our branches
grow wanting

to reach out
to other branches ( )

This is a summer poetry book. This book is also bilingual so it is always a good addition to the classroom. The pictures are rather fascinating. Good for second grade and up

Following the bilingual theme of his other books, Alarcon takes readers on a journey to Mexico through his poems. This book is filled with vivid imaginary and metaphors and personification, and follows the theme of summer. I would recommend this book to children in the 3rd-5th grade. ESL students might also like this book because of the English version and then the Spanish version right next to it. ( )

poetry book that deals with poems about the summer time. Also deals with cultural issues such as loving the culture where you came from, this culture specifically dealing with the spanish heritage. good book, pictures are a main portion of the poems ( )