A first-person narrative in Spanish and English tells the story of the water cycle. Agüita (Little Water) starts the journey deep inside Mother Earth, gradually working its way to the surface, where it forms as a drop of morning dew. It eventually makes its way into a river and then into the sky. Argueta’s poetic text moves from the smallest drop to an ever-expanding personification of water (“I am all colors / and have no color. / I am all flavors / and have no flavor. / I am all shapes / and am shapeless … ”) Ugalde Alcántara’s textured paintings suggest Aztec-inspired symbols, and the text itself appears in Nahuat at the back of the book. (Ages 3-6)

"My name / is Water / but everyone / calls me Little Water." In this beautiful, poetic ode to the life-giving force of water, award-winning children's book author Jorge Argueta describes"€"in English, Spanish and Nahuat"€"the life cycle of water from the perspective of one drop.

From its birth deep in Mother Earth, Little Water climbs to the surface, passing through roots and rocks, light and darkness. Finally, the tiny bead of water makes it to the top and rests, "a sigh of morning dew," hanging on "the tips of leaves / on spider webs / or on the petals / of flowers." The droplet becomes a river, a lake, an ocean, ultimately climbing to the sky and turning into a cloud. Then, "drop by drop / I return singing / to our Mother Earth. I am Little Water. / I am life."

With stunningly beautiful illustrations by Felipe Ugalde Alcntara that depict the mountains, rocks, vegetation and animals of the natural world, this poem about the importance of water reflects Argueta's indigenous roots and his appreciation for nature. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta's Pipil-Nahua ancestors. This book is an excellent choice to encourage children to write their own poems about the natural world and to begin conversations about the interconnected web of life.