“Where is the center of the sea? / Why don’t the waves break there? … Do you hear explosions of yellow / in the middle of the fall?” Pablo Neruda’s Book of Questions is beloved by Spanish speakers, both children and adults. This beautifully designed bilingual edition includes 70 of the original 320 questions, presented in both their original Spanish and an English translation. The questions are set against Chilean artist Paloma Valdivia’s gorgeous, stylized illustrations full of animals and other elements of nature, including some human figures, and inanimate objects. Her rich but judiciously limited primary palette features shades of blue, red, and yellow on predominantly black backgrounds, adding to the sense of mystery and wonder the narrative can inspire. The questions, which range from playful to dreamy to existential, are prompts for contemplation and expression and offer spark after spark of inspiration for young readers’ and listeners’ imaginations. (Age 5 and older)