Fifty years later when Mercedes’ own journey leads her from the rural poverty of the Dominican Republic to the urban poverty of New York City, Graciela’s spirit is reborn in Mercedes’ granddaughter, Leila.

Mercedes, left largely to her own devices, grows to be resourceful and self-reliant. Graciela is not content with Casimiro’s prescription her quixotic search includes journeys to brothels and convents, and ultimately results in her death. Graciela’s dream of a turquoise palmwood house leads her to Casimiro, a patient charmer who tries to quell her restlessness by taking her on a boat ride to “Puerto Rico”–a voyage that turns out to be village a few miles down the river. Following the death of her lover, she is left with her infant daughter Mercedes and little else. Impoverished, restless, and passionate, Graciela yearns for a life beyond her small island. (Apr.Set against the backdrop of the United States’ occupation of the Dominican Republic in the early 1900s, Nelly Rosario’s debut novel paints a colorful, seductive, and often heartbreaking portrait of one young woman and her descendants. Separated into four 'movements,' 'The Season's Campaign' chronicles the cattails in springtime, which 'burst forth,/ crisp green squads/ bristling with spears,' while in summer, their 'brown velvet plumes/ bob jauntily.' Prange's illustration features a sky tinted with subtle shades of blue and lavender with a 'red-winged general' (aka blackbird) circling the fall cattails whose 'courage/ clumps and fluffs/ like bursting pillows.' With its unique combination of fact and fancy, this book is bound to delight pint-size scientists and environmentalists-and language lovers, too.

Each denizen of the pond is closely observed in both art and text, which brim with intriguing characterizations and vivid imagery. 'In the Depths of the Summer Pond' neatly creates a 'House That Jack Built' explanation of the underwater food chain. ' Nonetheless, the rhythmic ballad informs readers about the differences and similarities between the two insects without sounding the least bit didactic.

For instance, two almost-identical water bugs-the water boatman and the backswimmer-trade stanzas in the title poem as if they were yeomen on a 19th-century schooner: ' Yo, ho, ho The poems and hand-colored woodcuts combine whimsy with naturalistic accuracy, and crystal-clear side-bars filled with enough factual oddities to intrigue young readers provide ideal accompaniment. ) poems about the flora and fauna found in wetland areas also occasions the book debut for naturalist and printmaker Prange, whose artwork recalls the grace and narrative finesse of Mary Azarian. This remarkable collection of Sidman's ( The World According to Dog

Song of the water boatman