Review of Dreamers

 

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Genre/Category

Dreamers is a non-fiction, biographical children’s picture book. The category I am reviewing for is Pre-K-6th Grade Pura Belpre Award Winner. 

Target Age Group

The age group for this book is 4-8 years old, or children in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade. 

Summary

Dreamers follows the story of how the author, Yuyi Morales, immigrated with her son from Mexico to the United States in 1994. Morales details the hardships they faced, including differences in language and culture, before identifying how the library was a strong force for her and her son in finding a safe space to learn and discover. 

Justification

Dreamers is a New York Times bestseller and a Pura Belpre award recipient, one of seven that the author Yuyi Morales has received. Dreamers provides an important perspective for children to read who may also have experienced confusion and fear being in a new place and learning to call it home, while still holding on to their culture. Yuyi and her son Kelly find solace in the public library as a place of respite, another valuable experience children can relate to.

Evaluation

I have chosen to evaluate the illustrations, conflict, and narration of Dreamers.

Illustrations

What makes this title the most captivating for me is how Morales plays with perspective and different mediums to convey the emotions of the narrative. Morales employs a mix of realistic elements such as childhood drawings, her studio, traditional Mexican fabrics, handmade clothes, wood, embroidery, and much more. These elements all work together, often overlapping with unique zooms and rolling backgrounds to create a sense of magic and wonder. The protagonist’s own skirt is a mix of colors and textures, also adding to the vibrancy of the narrative. The illustrations reinforce the wonder that a library can bring.

Conflict

In both the illustrations and narration, Morales captures a sense of both awe and uncertainty the characters experience when immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico. The characters' facial expressions convey both intrique and doubt at different points in the narrative. Because Morales and her son are unable to return to Mexico after having immigrated to the U.S., the conflict is even heavier as they must adapt and learn how to exist in this new country withing the ability to go home. This means learning English, navigating city maps and transit, adapting to American customs, and more. Morales conveys these hardships well which emphasizes the resolution that the public library creates for the characters. The library is a place for them to learn without limit, find their voices, and feel comfortable.

Narration

Dreamers is autobiographical with narration and dialogue in 2nd person, as Morales tells this story of their immigration from Mexico to the U.S. to her son. Her son is present in almost every scene with her as they walk, read, write, make mistakes, and learn. The narration compliments the visual elements well. When in the library, sometimes only one or two words appear emphasizing the scene such as “unimaginable” and “surprising.” Earlier in the narrative, the words are longer in sentences, but still short and well-paced, as if the narrator were telling a bedtime story to her son. Overall, the minimal narration works well with the large, vibrant illustrations.

Reference

Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers. Neal Porter Books.