Dear You, Dream Big!

Gr 2-4–Black and brown children are encouraged to stand tall and proud in this second-person narrative. Illustrations show the children at school, facing struggles and learning about important figures in science, politics, and art. Three children study real-world figures, such as Katherine Johnson and Shirley Chisholm. An art classroom has a poster of Jean-Michel Basquiat on the wall, and his crown iconography figures heavily into the fictional character’s aesthetic. The inviting text is both affirming and repetitious, encouraging Black and brown children to persevere. White characters are shown as beneficiaries of systemic discrimination: a blond white boy with a presentation on Lincoln becomes class leader, it’s inferred, and a white teacher speaks to a white student while the Black girl raises her hand, again, inferring neglect. The truth of unfairly amplifying white voices over others is addressed vaguely by the text, but more specifically in the illustrations. These are done with digital crayon and colored pencil and take artistic license with, for example, skewed body proportions and room perspectives. The three protagonists are detailed, while other characters are often shown as sketched silhouettes in the background. NASA headquarters is also depicted simplistically. An author’s note touches briefly on Paul’s Caribbean upbringing.