Installed September 2015 – March 2016
Water Rolls, Water Rises / El Agua Rueda, el Agua Sube
by Pat Mora, illustrations by Meilo So, translation by Adriana Domínguez & Pat Mora
In an expressive celebration of the world’s waterscapes, verse and mixed-media illustrations swing from placid to tempestuous, creating an effective and fitting ebb and flow. A description of a peaceful river scene inspired by the Yangtze (“Slow into rivers/ water slithers and snakes/ through silent canyons at twilight and dawn”) contrasts with an evocation of a violent Patagonia sea (“In storms, water plunges/ in thunder’s brash roar,/ races through branches from lightning’s white flash”).
The palette also shifts to suit the vista: children in Finland play by a brook framed by brilliant fall foliage, while smoky grays dominate a hushed scene featuring the human and feline residents of Venice, enshrouded in fog. Some of the images and allusions suggest water’s life-sustaining power: men fish in India, Kenyan women fetch water from a well, and in the canals of Holland, “water streams, water slides,/ gliding up roots of tulips and corn.”
“Water Rolls, Water Rises / El agua rueda, el agua sube” Text copyright © 2014 by Pat Mora. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Meilo So.
Spanish translation copyright © 2014 by Lee & Low Books Inc. Permission arranged with LEE & LOW BOOKS INC., New York, NY 10016
The Trail Tales’ squirrel logo was designed by Arlington student Annabella.
