Bibliography
Engle, M. (2019). Drum dream girl: how one girl's courage changed music. Findaway World, LLC. ISBN 0544102290
Plot Summary
Girls can’t be drummers. It’s been the rule for as long as anyone can remember. That is, until the drum dream girl. She loved to play her drums, and she was good too. She had to keep her drums a secret until the day when her music was heard, and people decided that anyone should be able to play the drums. Inspired by the real life story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, Drum Girl Dream will inspire readers to follow their dreams no matter what people say.
Critical Analysis
Based on the real life story of Milo Castro Zaldarriaga, this book inspires anyone, but especially girls, to follow their dreams no matter who says they should not. Based in the Cuba, or as it is called in the book “an island of music in a city of drumbeats”, this story features beautiful descriptions of a lively, musical, community, with “outdoor cafés that looked like gardens”, “wind-wavy palm trees in a flower-bright park”, and carnivals. These illustrations are equally as colorful and whimsical featuring bright, folk-art style images. As she moves around the city, communities of people including those of African, Chinese, Taino and Spanish descent are featured in this Chinese-African-Cuban girl’s story. While this story is about one girl’s dream, men throughout the story, including her father, are featured saying that only boys should play drums with stern, authoritative expressions on their faces. Her father relents and hires a teacher for the girl. She plays well, and learns so much more; and in the end, her community decides “that girls should be allowed to play drums and bother girls and boys should feel free to dream”.
This is a beautiful read about a unique culture with a message that will inspire.
Review Excerpts and Awards
Pura Belpré Award, Illustrator Winner 2016
From School Library Journal: “Engle's spare, rhythmic text gets at the heart of the struggle to achieve a dream in this picture-book biography about a Chinese African Cuban girl who aspired to play drums even when society's double standards stood as a barrier.”
From Kirkus Reviews: “The rhythmic text tells Millo's story and its significance in minimal words, with a lyricism that is sure to engage both young children and older readers. López's illustrations are every bit as poetic as the narrative, a color-saturated dreamscape that Millo dances within, pounding and tapping her drums. Though it's not explicit in the text, her mixed Chinese-African-Cuban descent is hinted at in the motifs Lopez includes. A beautiful account of a young girl's bravery and her important contribution toward gender equality in the creative arts…”
Connections
Have older students explore the topic of gender roles. Consider reading Bad Boy by Walter Dean Meyers, and have students list things that both girls and boys “can’t do” according to the society within which they live.
Play Cuban music, let students dance. If possible, invite Cuban Musicians to visit in person or virtually.
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