Dreamers by Yuyi Morales by Marissa Posada

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Justification:I was trying to find a good book when I saw the cover of this book. I loved the art and I thought it was about the Dreamers that are being deported. I wondered how they would present the Dreamers situation to children, but it turned out to be abut the dream of all immigrants. This was also a Pura Belpre award book, so I knew it would be good. These are the reasons why I chose this book.

Evaluation:This book has examples of figurative language. she describes crossing the border like crossing the universe. This is because she was moving to a place where she did not know the rules and did not understand the language. She also uses figurative language to describe the importance of the public library. The library showed her how the language worked, through books. Allowing her to speak, write, and tell her own stories. She spent so much time at the library she felt like she lived there.

This book has examples of music in language. A good example is when she is describing the public library. Out of the five words to describe it, three of them end in -ble, establishing a pattern with the sound. Another example of establishing a pattern is when she describes how important books are to her. Each of the sentences starts with the word "Books...", which helps emphasize the importance of them. At the end of the story she again has every sentence start with "We...", again emphasizing everything they are. The rest of the story seems to have a cadence to the words, making it an easy read.

This book has good examples of the illustrations extending or developing the plot. One example is when she says the sky and land welcomed "in words unlike those of our ancestors." the clouds are written in English, but written backwards. On the next page she says that they made a lot of mistakes due to not understanding the language. The illustrations show her playing with her son in a fountain and a police officer standing with his hands on his hips. Another example is when she describes the library and she uses one word "Unimaginable." The illustrations show various things coming out of the stories. Thus extending the story without the use of text.

Response: I do not have a personal experience immigrating to a new country, especially when I don't speak the language, but this was inspiring to try it. It would drive me nuts to not be able to communicate with others. This book differed from my beliefs because I feel that you need to know a language before you travel somewhere. This book is another story that is convincing me that my beliefs are false. I enjoyed the text as entertainment and I loved the illustrations as art work. I really enjoyed the cadence in the text, it was very soothing. I loved the mixed media illustrations used in this book. The art was very unique and colorful.

Conclusion:This book has examples of figurative language, music in language, and illustrations that extend or develop the plot. This is a great story to read before bed because of the music in language. I give this book two thumbs up. I recommend this book to any one who wants a good read.

APA Citation: Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers. New York: Neal Porter Books.