A Movie in My Pillow

Argueta, Jorge. Illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez. A Movie in My P¡llow/ Una película en mi almohada. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press, 2001.

"Jorge, Jorge, don't forget
that in Nahuatl 'tetl'
means 'stone' and 'niyollotl'
means 'my heart'"
~Excerpt from "Voice from Home" by Jorge Argueta

In this autobiographical set of illustrated poems, written in both English and Spanish, Jorge Argueta shares his impressions of San Francisco's Mission District, his longing for El Salvador after he and his father fled his patria, and comparisons between the United States and El Salvador. His mentions of the Pipiles, an indigenous people of El Salvador, and their language, Nahuatl, highlight the bilingualism present in Latin America. The poems also hint at the war occurring in El Salvador at the time when he came to the U.S. and the hunger he experienced, without dwelling on these. The balance of the book is fantástico, with just the right amount of cultural information, beautiful language, and everyday observations.

Elizabeth Gómez, a native of Mexico City, has painted illustrations that are vibrant, whimsical, and well-suited to each poem. Their texture evokes the folk art common in Mexico and Central America, with a simple quality that lends itself well to the voice of a child. Even the placement of each poem on the page helps to create an experience as the reader proceeds through the text. This peek into the heart of a nation through the heart of one of its children is truly worthwhile for both children and adult readers.