A Perfect Season for Dreaming
Region: North America, U.S., New Mexico
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Original Language: Spanish
Translator: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Illustrator: Esau Andrade Valencia
Genre: Magic Realism
Descriptors: dreams; connection; family; secrets
Age: 4-8 years old
Review
A Perfect Season for Dreaming written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a brightly illustrated book that children ages 4 to 8 will enjoy. Octavia Rivera is a seventy-eight-year-old man who absolutely loves to take his afternoon siesta and dream up a new world. This summer he dreams of kissing turtles and coyotes in mariachi suits. Octavio longs to tell someone about his dreams and often feels lonely. He worries that his closest family and friends might not understand his dreams and think him crazy, or at the least, think he has a serious case of indigestion. That is until Octavio Rivera remembers that his granddaughter is a beautiful dreamer just like him and would be the perfect confidant. Sáenz’s picture book is filled with lyrical text both in English and Spanish. The book combines magic realism and dreams to bring you a heart-warming story about acceptance. Finally, the writing on each page is short, making it accessible to younger readers. This book has been reviewed in print, but is also available in eBook.
More About This Book
Reviewed: print book by Cinco Punto Press (2008). ISBN 9781933693019. 40 p.
Reviewed by: Raquel Martinez