Desi's Book Pick 5.25.06

"When I was a Boy, I Dreamed" by Justin Matott, illustrated by Mark Ludy. I picked this book up recently at the UCLA Book Fair and it's just the sort of thing I would've loved to read when I was a kid. First of all it's about make-believe and dreaming up adventures and secondly, the illustrations are so rich and wonderful that you can look at them dozens of times and find new things within the picture.

The story follows the memory of an old man as he tells of his past dreams, weaving through common scenarios of a young boys' thoughts. He digs a hole to China, lives in the ultimate tree house (my favorite), builds a rocket ship (Desi's favorite), finds the end of a rainbow, owns an outrageous ice cream shop, saves people from burning buildings and other fantastical scenes. As the dream-telling draws to a close, the reader sees the man surrounded by mementos of all his adventures, bringing to question whether or not those dreams came true, but leaving no doubt that the man still dreams. For the girls, there's also a companion book called "When I was a Girl, I Dreamed." Enjoy!