Published by Neal Porter Books

Summary:  “Child, you are awake! Breathe in, then breathe out, hermosa creatura.  You are alive! You are a bright star inside our hearts.”  A fawn travels through a desert landscape with its mother.  When it discovers the destruction of the beautiful cacti and a wall blocking its way, the mother is comforting, encouraging her fawn to speak up with a “No!”.  The fawn imagines a beautiful healed world, which includes human children: “You are a bright star inside our hearts.”  Includes a note from the author giving eleven reasons she wrote this book, which include a wish to show the environment of the borderlands, and its destruction from building fences and walls; also, a list of source materials. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  I’m putting this on my list of books to watch for Caldecott and/or Belpré recognition.  The illustrations are amazing, Spanish and English are effortlessly woven together in the text, and the back matter adds extra depth.

Cons:  It took me a few readings to fully understand what was going on in the story. That may be the book–there’s definitely more than meets the eye–or possibly my brain.