Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music

Gr 1-4--The award-winning Cuban American author has made her mark on children's literature with her powerful portrayals of little-known aspects of Cuban history, often shedding light on the Afro-Cuban experience. This work is inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke down traditional taboos against female drummers. Lopez's luminous illustrations represent the island's diversity. Details of Cuba's and the protagonist's Chinese, African, Taino, and Spanish roots are interwoven into the lyrical narrative and the vibrant acrylic paintings.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

A riot of tropical color adds sabor to the tale of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who dreams "of pounding tall conga drums, / tapping small bongo drums/ and boom boom booming/ with long, loud sticks/ on big, round, silvery/ moon-bright timbales." Everybody in Cuba believes that only boys should play the drums, and her own father forbids her to perform, but the "drum dream girl" (as she's referred to throughout) finds her own drums, practices, and persists until her father relents and hires a teacher. Lopez's (Tito Puente, Mambo King) paintings fuse dream and reality as the girl flies through the air, drumming on the moon and making music with butterflies and birds; Engle's (Silver People) lines dance with percussive sound words and rhythmic repetition. Though an afterword reveals that Zaldarriaga later became famous enough to perform for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Engle focuses on her initial struggles rather than her subsequent career. A valuable addition to the growing library of stories about strong Latina women. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency. Illustrator's agent: Stefanie von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

2017 Carnegie Medal winner

* "A beautiful account of a young girl's bravery and her important contribution toward gender equality in the creative arts."
—Kirkus, starred review

* "The heroine's tenacity in the face of naysayers will inspire all dreamers, and the illustrator's smile-inducing cameo on the last page emphasizes the universality of Millo's story...For those looking for more nonfiction titles about female musical powerhouses."
—School Library Journal, starred review

"The text and illustrations work together beautifully here, creating a story that will imbue readers with inspiration and a yearning to make music of their own."
—Booklist

"A valuable addition to the growing library of stories about strong Latina women."
—Publishers Weekly

"With its emphasis on artistry and visual metaphor, this title bears a strong kinship with Yuyi Morales' Viva Frida, but it also brings an accessibility that young viewers (and teachers) will appreciate."
—Bulletin

"Engle's poetic text takes its cues from Zaldarriaga's chosen instrument, its rhythm at times steadily assured and at others loose and improvisational...[E]very spread is full of motion, with some of the illustrations requiring a ninety-degree turn, as if the book itself has got to dance."
—Horn Book Magazine

"Engle's poetic narrative combined with Lopez's warmly ethereal folk-art illustrations to evoke a nighttime tropical dreamscape."
—New York Times Book Review