Somos como las nubes/We Are Like the Clouds

Poems written in Spanish and English poignantly address the struggles of child refugees fleeing Central America for the U.S. Shifting among the viewpoints of several children, the poems recount the sadness of leaving old lives behind and the dangers of the journey: “Don’t let us fall/ into the hands of the migra,/ and never in the hands of the traffickers,” reads a prayer to Santo Toribio, “saint of the immigrants.” Ruano’s lush paintings feature surreal flourishes (a rooster in a track suit, tattooed gang members with cyclopean eyes) as well as haunting images of families crossing deserts and crowding onto trains. A sobering but hopeful collection. Ages 7–12. (Oct.)