An Awesome Book!

by Dallas Clayton, Dallas Clayton (Illustrator)

Overview

Based on the simple concept of dreaming big, An Awesome Book! is the inspiring debut work of Los Angeles writer/artist Dallas Clayton. Written in the vein of classic imaginative tales, it is a sure hit for all generations, young and old.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062116673
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/17/2012
Series:	Awesome Book
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

My name is Dallas Clayton. I used to be a unicorn, but now I write kids' books. I wrote this book and drew the pictures. I hope you like it.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—This exuberantly written and illustrated book about dreaming big was originally self-published. Although it is longer than the usual picture book, the sparely written, well-cadenced, rhyming text lends itself effortlessly to an engaging read-aloud. ("Then once you've got that dream/in mind please dream a million more/and not a million quiet dreams/a million dreams that ROAR.") Quirky, finely detailed full-color pen-and-ink illustrations depict "candy cane machines," "magic watermelon boats," "dancing wild animals with diamond-coated wings," and a host of other fantastically fun and silly imaginings. The large, shadowed font adds texture, emphasis, and pizzazz to the visually diverse spreads. Not only is this joyful offering a surefire read-aloud hit, but it will equally engage young children singly or for lapsits as they pore over the entertaining minutiae in the artwork.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT

School Library Journal

To dream or not to dream, is at the heart of this surprising, unpretentious picture book for children of all ages. The author writes the book to his child and at the same time to all who open its pages. In this world, the author claims, there are people who have never dreamed of pink and blue, jersey-clad rocket-powered unicorns. Imagine that! With each turn of the page, the reader is flooded with fantastical innovations some people have never dreamed about - such as, magic watermelon boats, teeny tiny trumpet players, and training pet raccoons. In stark contrast, those who don't dream are portrayed as stagnant bored people standing around inside the line marked "give up." For people whose dreams have died, there is a cemetery called dream-etery. With all his heart the author/artist urges his child to be the one who dreams big - as in a red teddy bear overlooking skyscrapers - then to dream bigger. This unforgettable book lingers long after it has been put aside. Reviewer: Krisan Murphy

Children's Literature - Krisan Murphy

An earnest invitation to dream big, dude, and then bigger yet. Self-published in 2009 and gone viral in both print and free online versions, Clayton's inspirational litany decries "un-fantastical and practical" dreams in favor of those "that no one thought to wonder / dreams so big that they've got dreams and they've got dreams up under!" His hand lettered, all-uppercase lines caption equally emphatic full-bleed cartoon scenes that contrast views of slump-shouldered, Roz Chast–style underachievers with dizzying retro sprays of surreal exuberance. The art sometimes undermines the message--dreams that "scream," "sing" and "shout," for instance, are all represented by similarly bellowing monsters, while the supposedly drab dream of "buying a new hat" is expressed visually with a wild, full-page blizzard of different kinds of headgear. Moreover, the metrics are clumsy at best ("…remember what I said / ‘Close your eyes my child / and dream / that perfect dream / inside your head' "), and those reading it aloud will have a very difficult time navigating the almost punctuation-free text. Nevertheless, it's a worthy effort to prod children (and adults, for that matter) out of mental ruts. Or at least crank their aspirations up a notch. Share with your kid, or lay it on a new grad or parental unit for some literary feel-good action. (Picture book. 6-8, adult)

Kirkus Reviews