Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music - Hardcover

Engle, Margarita

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0544102290 ISBN 13: 9780544102293

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2015

Synopsis

Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule—until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongós. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream.

Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.

About this title

About the Authors

Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet and novelist whose work has been published in many countries. Her many acclaimed books include Silver People, The Lightning Dreamer, The Wild Book, and The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor Book. She is a several-time winner of the Pura Belpré and Américas Awards as well as other prestigious honors. She lives with her husband in Northern California. For more information, visit margaritaengle.com.

Rafael López is a New York Times–bestselling, award winning illustrator who has illustrated numerous acclaimed picture books, including The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly (New York Times bestsellers), Dancing Hands (Pura Belpré Medal), and Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You (Schneider Award), among others. Rafael is the recipient of three Pura Belpré medals, the Schneider Family Book Award, the Jane Addams Book Award, and the Tomás Rivera Book Award. He was the first guest artist of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and founder of the Urban Art Trail, a series of large-scale community murals around the U.S. Rafael lives in San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. You can visit him at rafaellopez.com.

Reviews

Gr 1–4—The award-winning Cuban American author has made her mark on children's literature with her powerful portrayals of little-known aspects of Cuban history, often shedding light on the Afro-Cuban experience. This work is inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke down traditional taboos against female drummers. López's luminous illustrations represent the island's diversity. Details of Cuba's and the protagonist's Chinese, African, Taíno, and Spanish roots are interwoven into the lyrical narrative and the vibrant acrylic paintings.

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0544102290
• ISBN 13: 9780544102293
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: López Rafael
• Number of pages: 48