Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music
Genre or Category
Pura Belpre Winner
Target Age Group
PreK – 3rd grade
Summary
A young girl who lives on a musical island in Cuba has a dream to play the drums. The only problem is girls are not allowed to be drummers. Drum dream girl is told only boys can be drummers so she drums alone in secret and dreams of the day she can perform for others. When her dream finally comes true it changes music on the island for all girls.
Justification
I chose this book for the illustrations and the dreamy mood. As I was searching for a Pura Belpre awarded book, I found Drum Dream Girl and instantly wanted to open it and start reading. I was intrigued by the title and cover art—an image of a young girl looking up at the moon in the night sky. Without knowing anything about the story the picture portrayed so much. I knew this young girl was a dreamer and I had to know more.
Evaluation
For this review, I will be examining illustrations, plot, and theme.
The illustrations in this book are stunning. The first thing I noticed about this book was the gorgeous cover. I had to open it and see more. The book takes place in Cuba, and the bright and vibrant colors play a large part in creating the island setting. The pages are filled with palm trees, exotic birds, and tropical flowers. The culture comes through in every scene. The pictures help to tell the story by showing emotion on the faces of drum dream girl and other characters. They also do a beautiful job of showing action like music and dancing. I could hear the beat of the bongo drums as I read the story.
I loved the plot of this book. I was invested in drum dream girl’s story. Will her dream come true? Will she ever get to be a drummer? I was rooting for her throughout the book and hoping to see it end with her dream coming true. Only boys could be drummers after all, but she overcame the obstacle and the reader gets to celebrate alongside her. What an inspiring plot with a happy ending!
As a dreamer and a girl, I felt empowered by the themes in this story. One of my all-time favorite themes is never stop dreaming. Drum dream girl shows us what is possible if we do not give up on our dreams—what an important message for children to hear! This story also has a girl power theme. Even though drum dream girl was told repeatedly only boys can be drummers it did not stop her from dreaming and practicing in secret. She was not afraid and she never gave up. She knew boys and girls could be drummers. This is such a powerful message for young readers.
References
Engle, M. (2015). Drum Dream Girl: How one girl’s courage changed music. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.