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PICTURE BOOKS
Peña, Zeke

Sundust

48 pp. | Penguin/Kokila | August, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780593700112 $19.99 | Spanish ISBN 9798217003976 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593700129 $10.99
(2) K-3 Two siblings living in what appears to be a U.S.-Mexico border town embark on an adventure in the desert, following "sundust" as it illuminates the world around them. Amid the vast landscape, they follow a thin pink line, originating from outer space, that interacts with the landscape (and eventually becomes part of starry silhouettes of the children themselves), encountering animals and plants of various shapes and sizes as well as construction of a border wall that nonsensically splits the land. The thoughtfully crafted, lyrical text includes occasional Spanish words ("The desert heat / makes us who we are -- / hot / cooked / tostaditas / morenas / beautifully dark / doradites") and flows with the children's meanderings. Mixed-media illustrations use a color palette of jewel tones and earthy hues to depict land, sky, other elements of nature, and the children themselves, while sundust is represented in bright pink. Xicano creator Pena (illustrator of My Papi Has a Motorcycle, rev. 5/19), in his author-illustrator debut, offers a depiction of place and wonder that transcends borders and national identity, sharing visually how humans are part of nature and unbound by time and place. A poignant and timely story that introduces young readers to positive depictions of shared natural spaces, the joy of discovery, and themes of bicultural life that apply to both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Concurrently published in Spanish as Polvo solar.
Reviewer: Nicholas A. Brown | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2025

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