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.

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.)