Drum Dream Girl

Engle, Margarita. Drum Dream Girl. Illustrated by Rafael Lopez. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2015.

Winner of the Pura Belpre Award, Drum Dream Girl is the story of, as the book is subtitled,  “how one girl’s courage changed music forever.” Margarita Engle chose poetry as the style of her text for this picture book. The story is based on the childhood of the young lady who broke the Cuba taboo against female drummers. A musical child who lived in the day of “only boys should play drums,” the main character dreams of drumming. When she is at home her fingers drum on the furniture. Because of her persistence  – her father finally finds a teacher who works with her until she is ready to play at a cafe. Drum Dream Girl is a great story of working for what you believe you can do even when are told you can’t. Rafael Lopez chose acrylic for his illustrations which have a very Hispanic feel to them.

Drum Dream Girl is on this year’s Land of Enchantment Book Award Roadrunner list.

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music is available at Amazon. Thank you for using my affiliate link which does not cost you any more but does help support this children’s literature blog.