Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music
Illustrator
Rafael Lopez
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Year
2015
ISBN
9780544102293
Pages
46 pages
Genre
realism
Format
picturebook
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule-until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongs̤. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream. Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.
Grade Level
PK-1
Diversity Topics
Racial Diversity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Biracial; Multiracial; Gender nonconformity; biracial child; multiracial child; gender roles
Main Character
girl
Race/Ethnicities
African / Chinese / Cuban
Family Formation
mother and father
Awards
Gate City Book Award, 2017 - 2018
100 Magnificent Children's Books, 2015 Picture Book
50 Books about Peace and Social Justice, 2011-2016 Paths to Peace: Ideas and Actions for Change- Picture Book
Building STEAM with Dia, 2017 K-Grade 2
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens, 2016 Ages 0-7
Keywords
drums; women; dreams; Cuba; defying antiquated rules
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Engle, Margarita, "Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music" (2015). Diverse Families. 1238.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1238