Mia's Story: A Sketchbook of Hopes & Dreams - Hardcover

Foreman, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763630632 ISBN 13: 9780763630638

Publisher: Candlewick, 2006

Synopsis

From award-winning picture book artist Michael Foreman comes the uplifting tale of a girl whose search for a lost puppy leads to some wondrous wildflowers — and a magical way to transform her barren village.

In a bleak little village in Chile, Papa comes home from his day of selling metal scraps with a wonderful surprise for his daughter, Mia. It's a puppy she names Poco, who follows the little girl everywhere — until one day, as puppies will do, Poco wanders away. As Mia searches for her pup, she finds herself all alone at the top of the highest mountain, where she gathers a clump of snow-white flowers to plant by her home. Soon Mia's fragrant flowers have spread through the village and blanketed the once-ugly dump. Before long, she is selling her flowers in the city square, telling crowds of customers that "they come from the stars." But wherever the flowers are, Mia is always reminded of Poco. Is it possible the flowers may bring back her beloved dog after all?

About this title

About the Author

MICHAEL FOREMAN has won the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Kurt Maschler Award, and the Bologna Graphics Prize. Of MIA'S STORY: A SKETCHBOOK OF HOPES AND DREAMS, he says, "I was traveling from Santiago, Chile, into the Andes and came upon what seemed to be a wasteland, a landscape of trash from the city. But a man who lived there, Manuel, showed me that it was the opposite of a wasteland. For Manuel and his fellow villagers, the trash was a crop to be harvested, recycled, and made useful once more. This book is dedicated to their spirit and inspiration." Michael Foreman lives in London.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4–Inspired by the people the author met during a visit to Chile, this story tells of Mia and her family, who make their home from the materials they scavenge from the village dump and their living by selling the scraps they collect there. When Mia goes on a long search for her dog, she finds herself high in the mountains where the air is clear, free of the dark cloud that always fill[s] the valley where she lives. There she discovers lovely white flowers and transplants them at home. When they grow and spread, she starts a flower business with her father in the city. The large-print text is illustrated with watercolor spreads, and the handwritten sketchbook entries are accompanied by drawings and watercolor vignettes. Mia and the other market vendors wear hats and ponchos typical of the region while her father wears jeans and a baseball cap. The predominance of browns and grays emphasizes the pollution and bleak environment in which the people live. However, though they have very few material goods, they go about their lives with verve, attend school, play soccer, and, above all, cherish the dream of one day having a home made of brick. This story, along with Dyanne DiSalvo's A Castle on Viola Street (HarperCollins, 2001), offers readers glimpses into the resilience of the human spirit.–Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT
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Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0763630632
• ISBN 13: 9780763630638
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Foreman Michael