Agua, Aguita

The premise of Agua, Aguita is simple (though not simplistic), the story of water told from the point of view of a single drop. I can’t speak for the Spanish or Nahuat translations of this book, but Jorge Tetl Argueta manages to generate a gently poetic English text in the process of telling it.

I am all colors

and have no color.

I am all flavors

and have no flavor.

I am all shapes

and am shapeless.

I am Water,

I am Little Water.

The Spanish and English texts appear on each verso page, with a luscious illustration by Felipe Ugalde Alcantara on the facing page. I can imagine pre-readers and early readers wanting to hear this story at bedtime, and memorizing it in both languages. The entire story is told at the end in Nahuat, which is the modern version of the language spoken by the Aztecs. It is the largest Native American language in Mexico, spoken by about a million people.

Agua, Aguita was published in October by Pinata Books, an imprint of Arte Publico Press. It is aimed at reader 4 to 8 years old, and comes in at 32 pages.