Dreamers

★ “Many books about immigration describe the process of making new friends and fitting in; this one describes what it’s like to become a creative being in two languages, and to learn to love in both. ‘We are two languages./ We are lucha./ We are resilience./ We are hope.'”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

★ “An immigrant’s tale steeped in hope, dreams, and love. . . . Details in the art provide cultural markers specific to the U.S., but the story ultimately belongs to one immigrant mother and her son. Thanks to books and stories (some of her favorites are appended), the pair find their voices as ‘soñadores of the world.’ A resplendent masterpiece.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review


★ “The narrative text is poetic and full of emotion. . . .  the mixed-media illustrations are breathtaking, created through painting, drawing, photography, and embroidery. The joyous imagination and intricacy of each illustration will make readers of all ages explore them further. . . . “—Booklist, Starred Review


“Dreamers is a paean to libraries, to reading and writing and creativity, a value statement I endorse wholeheartedly. Dreamers aims for the glorious and the poetic; it’s big, passionate, crammed with detail.”—The New York Times Book Review

★ “The magical art marries the succinct and powerful narrative in a resplendent celebration of literacy, language, and the transformative power of the picture book form . . . This excellent memoir encapsulates the fears, hopes, and dreams that come along with immigrating to a new place . . . A timely and much-needed selection.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ ”Every page of Dreamers vibrates with energy, depicting the emotions, the turmoil, the stress and the joy that come with creating a new life.”—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

★ “The gently hopeful text offers its best optimism when rooted in Morales’ own experience. The immersive magical reality of the art is the real glory here; the mixed-media illustrations, including acrylic paint, drawing, and bits of collage, are full-bleed spreads that depict the library as a milieu every bit as startling and novel to the speaker as the U.S. itself.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Starred Review

★ “A wise book and, to praise it in its own words, ‘resplendent,’ an eloquent vision of the ‘resilience’ and ‘hope’ of the ‘dreamers, soñadores of the world.'”—The Horn Book Magazine, Starred Review

“Morales tells, through illustrations that seem to dance and sing, the story of crossing borders on a bridge of language with her young son. Together they discover picture books and public libraries, and the gifts they brought with them — open hearts, art, poetry and stories — blossom.”—The Washington Post, Best Books of 2018