Salamander Dream [Paperback]

Hope Larson (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Salamander Dream is a young girl's journey within a magical forest. As the year's pass, she finds herself changing, which in turn, changes her friendship with Salamander.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hailey believes in magic. Or at least she tries to, when she visits the woods near her house where, as a young girl, she first meets the endearing Salamander, who tells her a tale to while away a summer afternoon. As she grows older, she meets Salamander again as an adolescent and then a young adult. This book is a collection of the stories the two friends take turns telling each other: of swimming with a minnow in the stream, of flying on the back of a hawk, of shrinking through the pores of the skin to raft on red blood cells and fly past electrons. These stories are told almost exclusively through images, in bold blocks of black, white and green. The drawings are surreal, the dialogue looping through the scenery and the limbs of the characters, stretching into the nature that surrounds them. Salamander and other animal characters are drawn as silhouetted human figures wearing representational masks, making Salamander and Hailey's journeys seem even more bizarre. A coming-of-age story about a girl learning to hold onto magic as she grows older, this is a also whimsical, dreamlike flight of fancy. (Aug.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: AdHouse Books (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972179496
• ISBN-13: 978-0972179492
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful in may ways, October 23, 2005

By 

Jamie Maldonado (Longview, Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Salamander Dream (Paperback)

This is not only a wonderful story, but every page is a work of art that could stand on its own. The book is a treat to look at, and even the paper stock ads to the feeling. Hope Larson is one of the best illustrators out there, and she is emerging as a good storyteller, also. This book is good enough to make me write an Amazon review for the first time in forever (and with this name I don't really remember coming up with). I love "Salamander Dream."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively simple, deeply moving, April 11, 2006

By 

William Timothy Lukeman - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Salamander Dream (Paperback)

This lovely little graphic novel is a wonderful coming-of-age story, one which acknowledges the unavoidable changes & complexities of growing up, while reminding us that it's still possible to hold onto more of that childhood magic than we might have imagined. The duotone art has an emotional richness that belies its apparent simplicity -- Hope Larson already knows that less is more, and that one line can convey as much (if not more) than overly detailed work. And I just love the tiny captions for the various flora & fauna in the background! Everything about this slim volume, right down to the choice of paper & ink, is just right. It's an all-ages work in the best sense of the phrase: children will certainly enjoy it & respond to its charm, and adults will recognize truths that only time & experience can bring. Highly recommended!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Journey Through Story, Magic, and Nature, October 16, 2005

By 

W. Larsen (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Salamander Dream (Paperback)

A wonderful and visually attractive story that treats the living creatures of the forest as fully alive and full of magic, and a girl who holds on to that perspective as she grows older.