In this enchanting bedtime story, Emily Winfield Martin asks and answers the question, How do we get to Dreamland?
"Dreamland is too far to run and sleepy feet, too slow," she explains, so Dream Animals take us to our dreams.
After introducing this concept that Dream Animals transport children to their dreams, Martin describes and illustrates possible dreams. For example, she posits that a bear could take you to meet friends and shows a boy on the back of a bear, followed by a full page spread of the those friends "set[ting] their misfit table for a feast that never ends." A fox takes a girl to an elfin hollow; a narwhal takes another girl to an underwater tea party with mermaids. The magical dreamscapes she creates will appeal to children and awaken their own imaginations. I love the soft, dreamy illustrations. They remind me of the style of the 40s and 50s. Even the endpages are great: they show children getting ready for bed at the beginning, and children asleep at the end. (and the hardcover of the book features constellations of dream animals). She has composed the story using a nice rhythm and rhyme which gives the story a sort of musical flow. Everything about the text and illustrations complements the story and its dreamlike tone. I would get this to read to my own children. Love.
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