Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music / poem by Margarita Engle; illustrations by Rafael López
Boston ; New York : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2015]
©2015
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music
Engle, Margarita
Book - 2015
ISBN: 9780544102293
Photo of Margarita Engle: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 3.0
Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American author whose books are often composed in verse and celebrate her Cuban heritage. She has received numerous awards, including the American Library Association's Pura Belpré Award, NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, the Golden Kit, and the Newbery Honor. While Engle has authored over thirty books, I recommend the following for readers of Drum Dream Girl:
These books were selected because they celebrate Cuban history and culture, are generally written for the same reading level, and feature protagonists that break with tradition—patriarchal or other societal hierarchies—in pursuit of their dreams.
Photo of Rafael Lopez: Candice Michelle Lopez, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rafael Lopez is a renowned illustrator and artist. Born and raised in Mexico City, Lopez currently lives in San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Lopez has twice been awarded the Pura Belpré Award, as well as the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the National Cartoonist Society Book Illustration Award. He has illustrated many books, but I recommend the following for readers of Drum Dream Girl:
These books were selected because they have a common theme of children who are aspiring artists, and they celebrate Latin American culture, specifically Cuba and Venezuela.
Reading is Resistance provides a lesson plan specifically designed to “start or deepen anti-bias conversations in families and other learning communities.” This lesson plan references other real-life “inspiring female drummers” such as Sheila E, Viola Smith, and Elayne Jones.
Summary
The text of Drum Dream Girl is a poem inspired by the early life of the Chinese Afro Cuban drummer Millo Castro Zaldarriaga. Within the book, she is referred to as the “drum dream girl” because her love of drum sounds is so central to her identity. Her father specifically and Cuban society generally are opposed to girls playing the drums. However, the “drum dream girl” is undeterred and pursues her dream. Her resilience is eventually rewarded when her father hires a drum teacher to assess his daughter's skills, and she subsequently demonstrates her talent and determination by performing in front of a live audience.
Groups Represented
Suggested Age and Reading Level
Prevalent Themes
Notable Quote
“When she walked under
wind-wavy palm trees
in a flower-bright park
she heard the whir of parrot wings
the clack of woodpecker beaks
the dancing tap
of her own footsteps
and the comforting pat
of her own
heartbeat.”