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The Dreamer

The Dreamer

Author:

Pam Munoz Ryan

Illustrator:

Peter Sis

Published by:

Scholastic

First Published:

30 Mar 2012

Ideal for readers aged

9-12y

My Review

Set in Chile, this is an unusual book, but one well worth reading for any child who loves nature or who’s gentle spirit feels at odds with a noisy world. Printed on yellow paper, and with well-spaced text, and quirky illustrations by Peter Sis, it’s also designed to be an easier read for a child with dyslexia, but doesn’t shy away from celebrating beautiful language and poetry. Neftali loves words, stories, collecting treasures, and listening to the rain. He wants to write, but his Father has other plans for him and is cruel and merciless in his ridicule of his son. Neftali needs to be brave if he is going to break free of his Father’s expectations and fulfil his dreams.

Heads Up!

There are some references to domestic violence as Neftali and his brother contend with their harsh father's expectations.

Publisher Review

Neftalí’s father wants him to be a doctor. But Neftalí is not like other children. How he reconciles his own dreams with his father’s is at the heart of this profoundly moving story of the life of poet Pablo Neruda. From the time he is a young boy, Neftalí hears the call of a mysterious voice. Even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when his harsh, authoritarian father ridicules him, and when he doubts himself, Neftalí knows he cannot ignore the call. Under the canopy of the lush rain forest, into the fearsome sea, and through the persistent Chilean rain, he listens and he follows. Combining elements of magical realism with biography, poetry, and literary fiction, Pam Muñoz Ryan takes listeners on a rare journey of the heart and imagination.
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