17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dreamy, Beautiful, Brilliant book, April 7, 2010
This review is from: The Dreamer (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers) (Hardcover)
ENTER THE DREAM! Were you a dreamy kid? The type of kid that parents & teachers nagged to focus more? Do you have a child like that? If yes, you will love this book. Inspired by the life of a real poet in Chile, Pablo Neruda, the book's prose is dream-like and poetic. It is greatly enhanced by award-winning artist Peter Sís, whose delicate, drawings enhance the magical world. Finally a book that favors the right-brain people (in this left-brain culture).
The main character dreamily ponders the world while cowering from his domineering father. However, Neftali's beholding of nature, his sense of wonder and his limitless imagination cannot be bound. He persists in his dream-like approach to the world. INSPIRE YOUR DREAMY CHILD -- This book will inspire young readers, future poets and all right-brain people. It's courageous, unusual and unique.
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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is there forgiveness for a well-intended but bad acting father?, May 17, 2010
This review is from: The Dreamer (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers) (Hardcover)
The message to follow your dreams is wonderful, making poets "cool", especially those from other countries is a great idea, and Pam Munoz Ryan's questions combined with Peter Sis' drawings are fantastic such as "Which is sharper? The hatchet that cuts down the dream? Or the scythe that clears a path for another?"
My lack of enthusiasm for the book is directly related to my having lived in Chile for six years and being married to a Chilean. Chile is an interesting land of contrasts. The literacy rate is high and the interest in politics and current events is also very high. However many, not all, Chileans consider reading "anti-social", something I was chided for regularly. Unlike in the book, there was no library at a seaside town. I never found a public library in the whole country, although, I heard vaguely that there was one in the capital. A magazine/book store would be more likely. My point is that there were many cultural things that made the father who he was. He was not Dave Pelzer's mother. College entrance exams are very tough in Chile and peasants, at least fifteen years ago when I was there, were very real which tends to make fathers want better for their children. Families regularly took month vacations to the beach and the "sink or swim" swimming method made a champion swimmer out of my own husband. These aren't the best parenting techniques, of course, but I guess I would have been more comfortable if the father hadn't been a complete villain.
Also, although not as important, I wish there had been one last editing by someone from Chile. Parrots and Flamingos that far south? Potato empanadas? Meat and cheese empanadas are as common as hot dogs and hamburgers here, but I've never heard of potato ones.
All that aside though, the book is an enjoyable, magical read that teachers could certainly use as fodder for creative writing papers and/or poetry units.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful introduction to the early life and work of Neruda, June 11, 2010
This review is from: The Dreamer (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers) (Hardcover)
Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet, wrote, "...my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests." In her fictionalized biography of him, Pam Muñoz Ryan asks, "Does a metamorphosis begin from the outside in? Or from the inside out?" THE DREAMER explores Neruda's childhood and the roots and inspirations of his poetry.
Neftalí Reyes was born to a domineering father, who wants his sons to be strong, powerful men of industry. But Neftalí and his older brother, Rodolfo, are creative souls more interested in books and music than math and business. Neftalí is shy, stuttering and unsure of himself, and feels most at home surrounded by nature or the many interesting objects he collects, like shiny keys, feathers and beautiful stones. His head is full of stories, and he is entranced by the rhythmic sounds of the forests, rivers and jungles. Though his stepmother tries to protect him, Neftalí is subject to his father's mood swings, strict rules and cruelty. As he grows up, inspired by his uncle, a progressive journalist and activist on behalf of the native Mapuche, Neftalí finds his voice and strength in the written word --- first in political essays and finally in poetry.
Ryan's prose is a lovely and dreamy parallel to Neruda's lovely and dreamy verses, and she tells Neftalí's story with compassion and beauty. Though Neftalí struggles with familial and social expectations, he is steadfast in his identity as someone who needs creative expression, especially through words. At times the story is dark, even harrowing; Neftalí's father forces him and his young sister to swim every day one summer in cold and strong waters, though they are both weak swimmers and terrified of drowning. But Ryan focuses on the power of imagination that Neftalí harnesses, and so the book remains optimistic and hopeful.
Though written for children, it is a story readers of all ages will find much value in: a tale of perseverance and poetry, family and power, art and identity, written in Ryan's sure and slightly unconventional hand. She asks her audience to ponder with Neftalí questions such as, "Where is the heaven of lost stories? Who spins the elaborate web that entraps the timid spirit? What wisdom does the eagle whisper to those who are learning to fly?" Peter Sis's drawings that accompany the tale are airy and fantastical --- a perfect illustration of Neftalí's thoughts and experiences.
THE DREAMER is a wonderful introduction to the early life and work of Neruda and includes an author's note at the end as well as a selection of his poems. But mostly this is a good story: a compelling and emotional look at a lonely and fanciful boy who grew up to be an important and visionary artist. Evocative, sensual and moving, it will surely inspire young readers to see the world in a new way and encourage them to learn more about Neruda, his native Chile, and poetry in general.
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