Alarcón, Francisco X. 1998. From The Belly Button of the Moon. Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. San Francisco: Children's Book Press. ISBN: 0-89239-153-7.
From The Belly Button of the Moon is a wonderful collection of bilingual poems by Francisco X. Alarcón. Each poem is featured in both English and Spanish. The poems are written for children and are accompanied by illustrations. Most are quite short. For example, "Island" is two stanzas of two lines—for a total of four lines. Every island dreams of being a continent (22). The poems are beautiful. Alarcón has a way with words. His imagery is amazing. For example, "Question" asks if question marks are really little seahorses. It is clever and written in such a way that children can grasp. He makes poetry fun.
The illustrations by Gonzalez are some of the best I've seen in quite a while. They are fun, colorful, lighthearted, and expressive. Laughing, carefree children roam through the pages of this book filling it with life and joy.
The text and the illustrations make this work distinctive of its culture. I enjoyed having the poems in both languages. Because these poems are simple, it was easy to read the Spanish and make the connections between the two languages. I would think it would be helpful for those learning Spanish or for those learning English. Having the poems side by side adds to the quality of the book. It could easily be enjoyed by children of all cultures.
Culture Three Readings: