School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-A rich, personal narrative about growing up as a migrant farmworker. Herrera relates how he learned to love the land from his father, and poetry from his mother. He uses lyrical passages to portray everyday life, e.g., the ritual of breakfast: ``The sky was my blue spoon,/the wavy clay of the land was my plate.'' The colored-pencil and acrylic illustrations are bright and at times fanciful. Simmons's artwork brings to life Herrera's words, which are printed in both English and Spanish, and reinforces his imagery. The page layout varies, but is appropriate for the mood of the story. The combination of a beautiful text and radiant paintings makes Calling the Doves an excellent bilingual picture book.-Maria Redburn, Collier County Public Library, Immokalee, FL