"The Dreamer" by Pam Munoz Ryan and Peter Sis

In a word, "wow." Some of this year's notable titles left me a little "ehh," not this one. "The Dreamer" was the Pura Belpre winner and is, IMHO, the top pick of the honorees. "The Dreamer" is the lyrical story of Neftali Reyes, a young boy growing up in Chile in the early 20th century. Neftali is small and thin, a lover of words with a rich imagination, and a child who craves love from a harsh and demanding father. The text off-shoots from time to time, much like Neftali's mind, with detailed artwork by Peter Sis bringing these flights of fancy to bold and detailed beauty. The soft green text is large and spaced across the pages in wide paragraphs, allowing the reader's eyes to fly across the words like they are birds in flight. It doesn't take too long for the experienced reader to realize this is the story of Pablo Neruda. A fictionalized tale taken from real events of his childhood, Ms. Ryan has done an outstanding job of giving us an insight into the mind of a man who helped change our world-view. I recently had a discussion with the TAB book group about books that can be appreciated on many levels, by different ages of readers. This is one such book. Appealing to young children (Neftali is seven when the book begins) but with enough layers and richness to appeal to adults, this story should be considered one of the "modern classics." Enjoy.