Albidaro and the Mischievous Dream

by Julius Lester, Jerry Pinkney

Chaos results when a dream tells all the children and animals of the world that they should do whatever they want without fear of adult reprisal, and it is up to Albidaro, Guardian of Children, and Olara, Guardian of Animals, to put everyone back where they are supposed to be.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Julius Lester was an American writer of books for children and adults. He was an academic who taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs.

Reviews

[Lara Lleverino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my favorite Lester/Pinkney duo book! The story is hysterical and Pinkney outdoes himself illustrating Lester's wild imagination!

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book plays with three different thought-experiments: (1) What if parents were powerless to punish children for doing as they please? (2) What if animals (wild and domestic) could enter our homes and act like people? (3) What if animals were suddenly changed so that what we take to be their most prominent charicteristics were the opposite (giraffes with small legs)?

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas, but it's kind of got too much going on. Some humor but a think a tale a little more closely grounded in reality could have meant more.

[miloowyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could've done more with the two deities concept, loved their character design. Was quite disappointed about the weak "message"- if there is any.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped for more from this story since it features two African deities I’d never seen or heard in the past. The brother Albidaro overlooks children and his sister Olara animals. Typical sibling rivalry ensues. While it is amusing, the topic gets rather silly as roller-blading animals, a dream manifesting itself as a glitter butterfly and talking teddy bears get in on the act. What, exactly, do stuffed ursines have to do with anything? The story might have been better for leaving them out of it.

The illustrations by Jerry Pinkney are lively and expressive and make the book worth having on their merit alone. His style is one of the more easily recognizable out there, with pencil marks showing under the color and lending shading and weight. However, human expressions can be a bit lacking or over-exaggerated. When Olara and Albidaro have a confrontation, you really can’t gauge the seriousness of it by looking at them; they might be about to sing.

The lesson that children should behave and do as they’re told is a light one and doesn’t detract from the story too much. The sweetness underlying the tale can’t be denied and so it makes for good bedtime reading.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally picked this book up for my son, but then realized he probably wouldn’t pay attention long enough for me to finish reading it to him. It was a bit of an odd story, but thank goodness for Jerry Pinkney's fabulous illustrations. A dream decides to tell all the children of the world to not obey their parents, though when the children actually wake up, this is short-lived. Albidaro, the guardian of children, sees the dream and decides to play a trick on his sister Olara, the guardian of animals to get them to not obey humans. It actually works and soon all the animals of the world are doing all kinds of crazy things, like dressing up in the parents’ best clothes to eat dinner. Olara does not understand why they are doing this, until Albidaro tells her it was him. The animals do not want to change their ways, so she completely changes their appearance as punishment, giving whales wheels instead of tails and making lions bald. They hastily change their minds and things go back to normal. Recommended for ages 5-8, 3 stars.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jerry Pinkney's illustrations are beautiful, as always. I just didn't connect with the story this time, but I can see how children might. This is a tale about a day when the children and animals of the world did not do the things they should do. Children don't go to school, animals are inside houses. Some children will surely find it very funny. I kept looking at Pinkney's animals and wishing there was a better story to go with them.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE Jerry Pinkney's illustrations and he certainly doesn't disappoint here. The story is a cute, modern fable about children obeying their parents; with a "just so" touch of why Teddy Bears have secrets. I wish the author had given a bit of background on the mythological influences he had when he wrote this.