Firesnake: The Last Cuentista Book 3 Volume 3 by Higuera, Donna Barba

From New York Times bestselling author Donna Barba Higuera, Firesnake delivers a triumphant finale to the story that began with the Newbery Medal-winning The Last Cuentista and continued in the Pura Belpré Honor-winning Alebrijes.

Itzel has never known a life on Earth. Growing up on Sagan, the granddaughter of the Cuentista, her years have been spent among the dactyls, griblets, and billow seeds of their new planet. But when a mysterious message arrives from across the cosmos, Itzel realizes that the home they thought destroyed hundreds of years ago has survived . . . and with it, another community of humans. Will she and the other Saganites brave the journey back to Earth? And what will they find? For they are not the only ones who have received this message . . .

Master storyteller Donna Barba Higuera brings her beloved Cuentista trilogy to a close in a book full of old friends and new, jaw-dropping twists, and a journey to the stars and back.

Author: Donna Barba Higuera
Publisher: Levine Querido
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.37lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.90w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781646145713
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Foreword 06/27/2026

About the Author
Donna Barba Higuera is an award-winning author who masterfully blends folklore with her lived experiences to create captivating stories for young readers. Growing up in the dust-filled oil fields of Central California, she spent her life weaving tales that sparked her imagination.

Now residing in the Pacific Northwest with her family and a lively menagerie of pets, Donna is the acclaimed author of picture books like El Cucuy Is Scared, Too! and The Yellow Handkerchief. Her middle-grade novels have garnered significant recognition: Lupe Wong Won't Dance received the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor and a Pura Belpré Honor, while her second novel, The Last Cuentista, was awarded both the John Newbery Medal and the Pura Belpré Award. The Last Cuentista was also named a Best Book of the Year by The Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and TIME. Her newest book XOLO reimagines the Aztec myth of the origin of man-and man's best friend.

The highly anticipated third and final book in The Cuentista series, Firesnake, is slated for release in Spring 2026.