"A poem makes us see everything for the first time." So starts a new book of colorful poems for children -- and grownups -- by Francisco X. Alarcón, a UC Davis poet and lecturer. Titled "Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems" (Children's Book Press), the book is written in English and in Spanish, with lively and bright illustrations by San Francisco Bay Area artist Maya Christina Gonzalez. Alarcón, who directs the campus' Spanish for Native Speakers Program, wrote the book for his nieces and nephews "because I want to communicate with them. I wanted to write a collection for my family." The garden theme of the book stems from Alarcón's family tradition of growing fruit and vegetables as a family affair. Though he wrote the book with children in mind, Alarcón says the poems can be read by anyone. "The language is succinct and direct. The book is about life, about seasons, about spring." An example of his poetry in the book is the following: "Roots/ I carry/ my roots/ with me/ all the time/ rolled up I use them/ as my pillow." Some poems are political, for example, a poem titled "A Tree for César Chávez."