Yuyi Morales beautifully writes and illustrates her book, “Dreamers”. The pictures are composed of mixed media, acrylics, ink, and paper are used.
I love this spread above, because Yuyi writes about the power of the library in the back of the book on a page titled “My Story”. Yuyi is an #ownvoices author. She came to America with her son, where she married her husband, a U.S. citizen. She talks about becoming an immigrant and how the library was a wonderful place for her and her son. The library gave them hope, security, and freedom. They were able to take books off the shelves without being reprimanded, and they were able to discover picture books. The spread above shows the limitless stories that they were able to read in the safety of the public library. The stories are coming to life. The library helped Yuyi, and her son, become familiar in an unfamiliar place.
A nice added touch to this book, is the list of other books in the back. Yuyi alphabetized a list of books that “inspired her”. Not only are the titles listed, but she also wrote their publication information. I can only wonder if these are books that she came across in the public library with her son when she first came to America.
Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers. Toppan Leefung, Dong Guan City, China : Neal Porter Books.
__________________________________________
For older children, H.M. Bouwman’s “A Crack in the Sea”, tells of a story with a similar theme. This story tells of multiple characters who try to navigate a new place. Personally, I was not excited to read this book at first. I felt that it had a slow start and I was confused by the story line, thinking I needed more information, which I did not. About page 36, is when the book started to peak my interest, which it held for the remainder of the story.
This story is unlike anything I have ever read before, and I think that is why I enjoyed it.
There are a lot of characters, but the idea of two separate worlds and how to navigate between them is interesting. I have seen this theory played with in T.V. shows (such as Stranger Things on Netflix) and in Movies (such as the Matrix). However, I have never seen this theory present in a children’s novel.
While I would consider this book to be fiction, I do admire the author for tying in some real-life events and characters.
For example, a character named Amelia flies away and doesn’t return. This character is linked to the famous Amelia Earhart to flew over the Bermuda Triangle and disappeared.
The author also writes Venus’ story, in which she is on an overcrowded boat with other people who were viewed as less than human. Lots of them were sick or dying. She talks of the long travel to another land and the horrific conditions of the boat. Upon realizing how many people were dying, the boat captain and his crew began throwing people overboard, because insurance would cover the loss of captives if they were “lost at sea”. This event in the story was an actual event in real life. It is called the Zong Massacre. You can read more about it here: https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/zong-massacre-1781/ (I encourage you to read about it because this event is not something that is discussed in schools, that I am aware of. Although slavery is, and the Middle Passage is, and the Atlantic Slave Trade is, this particular event was something that I was ignorant to before reading this book.)
The mentioning of the Zong Massacre is used in the book to explain the gifts of Venus and how she can walk along the ocean’s floor. She leads her people to safety and they must learn how to survive in an unfamiliar place. Their experiences and determination make themselves “familiar”. The same thing goes for Thanh and Sang, who find themselves in the second world. When deciding to stay, they are forced to make this new place their home. They must become familiar in a once unfamiliar place.
Bouwman, H.M. (2017). A Crack In the Sea. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Children's Literature Blog 