Francisco X. Alarcon, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez,
Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems—Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno.
Children’s Book Press, 2001

Iguanas in the Snow is a splendid book, the last in a series by this author and illustrator celebrating the seasons. Winter is the highlight here, and this book will remind you gently and joyously that while snow and cold air on your cheeks may be the postcard version of the season, a warm-weather winter holds just as many delights and pleasures.

Award-winning poet Francisco X. Alarcon and illustrator Maya Christina Gonzalez have synergistically created a spirited and colorful romp through winter using Mexico and California as the backdrop. Family members and friends enjoy winter in many different ways witnessed by the mischievous iguana, which appears in one form or another on every page. The poems, given in both Spanish and English, are short, sweet, and evocative of the season as it is experienced in the barrio and the Buena Vista Bilingual School, where the children of migrant farmworkers sometimes attend.

Personal identity, and the way it connects to the identity of a place, is highlighted in "San Francisco," as a boy named Francisco (like the poet) celebrates the fact that the city is named after him: "here everybody / knows how to / spell my name." In "In My Barrio."

you can hear
the music
of life
coming out
of murals
in full color.

The pages of this book are filled with beautiful color themselves, illustrating the bounty of nature to be enjoyed in California, whether you are a permanent resident or a migrant worker expecting to return to Mexico at the end of the harvest season. The ubiquitous iguana, triumphant and playful, is a reminder of the poet’s grandmother’s home in Mexico. A strong sense of connecting to one’s heritage, as well as to nature, pervades this volume and is articulated in the last poem, accompanied by an illustration of four children of different sizes and hues standing under snow-laden trees:

Children are
the blooming
branches of trees
one day their seeds
will become
the roots
of other trees
bearing their own
blooming branches.

Michelle Reale
Winter 2001-2002