Dali and the Path of Dreams

Grade 3-5–Little Salvi goes on a surreal adventure that begins with finding a key under the ocean. He then rides a long-legged elephant, comes across pizza-shaped clocks, sails through the air in a rowboat, and explores a strange tower. In one room, a piano plays as unusual objects and strange people emerge from the corners and eventually settle down to live in a drawer for a very long time. The book ends with an adult Salvador Dali reaching back to his childhood, and the drawer, for inspiration. Each page contains elements from Dali's life and his famous paintings. With their dreamlike quality, the pictures are a little like a visual trip down the rabbit hole; they are more entertaining and enlightening than the story, which is rather plodding. Students who are studying the surrealists might find it interesting to compare this book with Dali's art to see how Subirana wove symbols from his work into her illustrations. More of a novelty than a story, this is an additional purchase.–Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
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