In this poignant bilingual picture book, a boy remembers his first present, "a little train crossing / the mountain of my pillow / over a valley on my bed." There's even a girl who looks like his sister waving happily from the window! Years later, after his parents have gone far away in search of work and a better future, the boy rides in a real train to join his family. This one is loaded with hundreds of children traveling alone, just like him....

A poignant bilingual picture book about the death of a grandparent Like most Saturdays, Mr. Garcia's rooster wakes Lorena much earlier than she wants to wake up. Lorena pulls the covers over her head to block out the day, but she knows she has to get up. Today is no ordinary Saturday. She and her mother will be going to Grandpa's house. Since Grandma's recent death, everything has changed for Lorena. Her mother often cries, and Grandpa sits motionless...

Francisco looks out his bedroom window and thinks about his home back in El Salvador. He misses his friends and playing in the village's park. He wants to fly a kite near his new home in the U.S., but his mother can't afford one. "If Mam can't buy me a kite, maybe I can make one," he thinks. Picking up a bag, Francisco leaves the apartment in search of treasures that he can use for his project. He finds purple cellophane, a pile of string and a broken...

Seven-year-old Alicia and her parents are enjoying the annual festival celebrating Mexico's independence. There are mariachis strolling across the festival grounds, folkloric dancers twirling in their colorful costumes and brightly colored booths lining the plaza. But the hot day has made Alicia thirsty. Her mother suggests aguas frescas and points to a booth lined with jars of brightly colored fruit juice: there's watermelon, strawberry, mango and...

Little Crow and Father Crow sit on the branch of a tall tree surveying the freshly planted corn field. Father Crow tells Little Crow that the human father and son they see working in the fields do a lot for crows. They plant corn, they move water, and they feed the crows with their fields. The crows sing their gratitude to the farmers, but in spite of their efforts to sing their best songs, the farmers don't like the crows. As they watch, the tricky...