Ready to Dream

Ready to Dream by Donna Jo Napoli and Elena Furrow
Illustrated by Bronwyn Bancraft

Overview: Ready to Dream tells a story about a young girl, named Ally, who travels to Australia with her mom for a month. Ally is an artist and as they explore she paints pictures of what she sees. Upon arrival, Ally meets a local artist named Pauline. Ally's art seems to always have an imperfection but Pauline helps her see the beauty in the imperfections.

Target Audience: Students who are perfectionists and/or are interested in painting/art.

Reading Level (according to amazon.com):
Age Range 4- 8 years old
Lexile Measure AD490L

Rating: 30/32 (based on rubric listed above)

- I rated the book 4/4 on Accuracy and Theme/ Storyline because it portrayed aboriginal people accurately and built up to a natural climax.

-The book received a 3/4 on Critical Thinking because the moral of the story allows students to think about how things that may seem imperfect can be perfect in their own way but it doesn't allow for much critical thinking besides that.

Literary Elements:

The literary elements listed below are some that can be taught using this book

-point of view: third person omniscient 

-figurative language

-setting

 Napoli, D. J., Furrow, E., & Bancroft, B. (2009). Ready to Dream. New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books.