If I Had a Little Dream


Amazon.com Review

Behind the Scenes with Illustrator Melissa Castrillon

1

This is the second page of the book, and I wanted to have two different shots of the girl in her house. I initially thought this would work best by having a close-up vignette on the left page and then to pan out and show the house and front garden in all its glory.

2

But I changed this for the final and made up our minds that to pan into the scene would create a better mood and make the sequence waft better.

3

Composition is truly important in my work, so for this spread I made up our minds I wanted to create an image where you could see both above and below the pond.
4

In the final, I kept to the original composition, but my wonderful art director, Lizzy Bromley, suggested putting birds flying away on the opposite page. It’s a small touch but very effective, creating a whole scene over the two pages. Thanks, Lizzy! 🙂
5

Again composition played a key part in developing this page. The initial design was to have a small narrative within the spread, having the sister in the tree singing with the birds on one page and then singing the lullaby on the opposite page.
6

In the finished artwork, color was important in linking together the sister, the birds, and her lullaby. I chose the color blue on account of bluebirds, but also because it’s a dominant color next to yellow, which is used the most all the way through the book.

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From School Library Journal

PreS-K—In a rhyming, lyrical bedtime book, a pigtailed child with rosy cheeks dreams up imaginary people, places, and things. Each is the subject of a quatrain that is phrased in a soothing and pleasant rhythm, adding to the precious and endearing quality of the text. The verses follow the same pattern: “If I had a little book,/I would name it Friend./Friend would go wherever I went,/our story would never end.” At the same time as Laden does not describe the objects themselves as otherworldly, Castrillon creates a dreamlike tone with her pencil illustrations, which swirl with detail in deep blues, burnt oranges, browns, and reds. The objects and backgrounds are reasonably surreal, some with a Seussian feel. The child is surrounded by intricate trees, abnormal plants, and curious forest creatures. Dream threads appear as winding blue vines from the child’s head. The pages are pleasantly constructed, with a balance of smaller symmetrical vignettes and half and full spreads. The final page shows the child in the arms of a loving adult caregiver and offers the message, “If I had a little dream,/I would name it You./You would make life magical,/where wishes do come true.” VERDICT A sweet bedtime selection where the illustrations are the star. Purchase for medium and large collections.—Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

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A Spring 2017 Indie Next Selection Nina Laden’s warm and lyrical picture book sees and appreciates through a child’s eyes how fortunate we are to live in the world we do.Celebrate the wonder of the world in this reassuring picture book about the joy, love, and beauty that is a part of each and each day. Our world is full of possibilities if you look for them.
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