When I Was A Girl . . . I Dreamed

by J.P. Matott, Justin Matott, Mark Ludy (Illustrator)

Follows the memory of an old woman as she reveals her past dreams, uncovering the commonality of young girls' thoughts and blurring the line between fantasy and reality. This book describes the woman surrounded by mementoes of her adventures, bringing to question whether or not those dreams came true.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Candace]

This is a book about imagination. An older woman retells her dreams to her granddaughter. The reader is left to ponder whether the dreams are reality or fantasy. The text rhymes and the illustrations are amazing. Together, they spark the reader's imagination. Recommended for kindergarten and up.

[Kathryn]

I appreciated the variety of "dreams" that the girl had, from being a ballerina to an veterinarian to going up in hot air balloons, and it's nice that many of her dreams were not just for self-actualization but to help others, too. However, I'm afraid I found many of the rhymes a bit clunky or cliched and sometimes the narrative got a bit disjointed.

However, I thought the illustrations were delightful and I'm very grateful my GR librarian friend Abigail linked Mark Ludy's name here as he definitely deserves recognition for his work here and I imagine readers will want to seek out more of his art after they finish this book.

[Angela]

Best for kids ages 2 and up
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, Narrative Skills

From cover:
Is this just an ordinary old woman with extraordinary tales to tell? Perhaps ... or maybe they aren't tales at all. With each page you turn, hearing of her dreams, you might just begin to wonder if they are dreams at all, or perchance tales from an amazing life still being lived by an unassuming, little woman with a cane ...

Great rhyming story with wonderful vivid illustrations.

[Melinda]

The illustrations alone are worth picking up this book, so masterfully done! The message is a simple one, but one to which any child can relate - becoming what one dreams. This would be a great class discussion book, opening up the possibilities for children to ponder about what they want to be.

[Elise Hill]

This book is a great way to show young readers the power of imagination. I loved the illustrations and alliterations used in the book. The connection between the grandma and her granddaughter is wonderful and I think that this book is a great family story time book.

[Sandra]

Every little and big girl should own this book.

[Brenda]

Enjoyed reading this to the WI grands. We’ll illustrated and the Grandma had a vivid imagination & dreams!

[Katie Nanney]

I liked this book. It reminded me of when I was a child and I had dreams of having all of these random occupations. I wanted to be anything from a super hero to a CIA agent. I liked the pictures in the book and the story and prose form were well written. I would recommend it for anyone to read and as a read aloud.

[Shelley Douglas]

This book tells the story of the dreams an old woman had as a child. Although many of the things she dreams of are stereotypically girl's roles, I still enjoyed the book. The illustrations are incredible, and the rhyming story has a nice flow to it.
Copyright: 2005
Genre: picture book

[Miranda]

this book is very unique. The pictures were so detaile. the author even signed my book.

[Mckinley]

Similar book is Dreams to Grow on by Dersio.

[Brittany]

Great book for Literacy Skills introducing Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, and Narrative Skills. Also good for students to think about reality versus fantasy.