“Here children / learn to sing / with their hearts,” writes poet Francisco Alarcón in “Ode to Buena Vista Bilingual School,” one of 17 poems in this marvelous bilingual (Spanish and English) collection. Alarcón writes with playful humor about his beloved city of San Francisco and about winter in the snow-laden Sierra Nevada mountains. Specificity of place does not limit the poems’ accessibility, however. They are vibrant, welcoming, and child-friendly. Maya Christina Gonzalez’s energetic, joyful artwork is a perfect accompaniment. As in their previous bilingual books about seasons and Mexican American life — Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems (1997), From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems (1998 ), and Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems (1999) — Alarcón and Gonzalez have teamed up for a lively celebration of season and culture. (Ages 5–9)