This Is the Dream

“This is the Dream”

I liked this book for two reasons. I liked the language. It had a lot of rhyming words, which gave it a steady flow. This made the message of the book more powerful. For example, the language in the line “with harsh written words that are slapped on the walls, denying both freedom and justice for all” gave a sense of how poorly conditions were. The flow of this sentence makes it easy for the reader to understand and remember.
The second reason why I liked this book is because of the illustrations. They gave me a visual of what life was like during segregation and how they were separate but not equal. One of the images was that of a school for white children and the image beside was of a school for black show more children. The school for black children looked worse than the school for white children and it had less resources. This image enhanced the idea that they were indeed separate but not equal. The images at the end of the book show how America has come a long way with pictures of all races sitting together. The message of this book is that there people who had to endure and fight (peacefully) so that everyone could live amongst each other peacefully. show less

This powerful book takes us from Jim Crow times to the realization of rights gained through the Civil Rights Movement. I knew I had to grab this one up when I saw that the illustrator was James Ransome. His realistic paintings with collage-style borders add drama and immediacy to the simple rhymes comprising the text. Although most of the story is told through the pictures, the poetic words manage to convey an enormous amount in the simple two lines that accompany each 2-page image: “These are the buses – a dime buys a ride/ but the people are sorted by color inside.” “These are the diners who sit and who wait/ at the “WHITES ONLY” counter, ignoring the hate.” “These are the marchers who forge through the street/ as they show more carry their message through shimmering heat.”

The authors state in an afterword that they are celebrating the power of nonviolent change: "…there is always room in our world for the kind of bravery that takes nonviolent action to create a better place. May this book be a testament to the courage of those who did and, above all, to peace.” show less

This a great book to introduce ideas of equality and the civil rights movement. The book does a good job addressing these topics - and many others - head on with little to no sugar coating. It does this through the blunt language combined with beautiful illustrations depicting what is being discussed in the text.Students of all levels can find enjoyment in the story line. In other words, it's a book that can bring the whole class together without leaving any students behind.

This is the Dream is a story about the Civil Rights movement. The story is told in poetry form and begins with the segregation between blacks and whites in the United States. The book then illustrates the progress black leaders helped pave the way for the freedom and equality we have today. I loved the collage of photos that represent each event within the book. I also loved the poetry. I would recommend that everyone read this book and if I used this book in my future classroom. I would definitely focus on comparing and contrasting the different changes of the Civil Rights movement.

I loved this picture book from the start. By first looking through the illustrations only I enjoyed the book because there were painted illustrations, along with photos from the civil rights act that were added for boarders that added more to the story. Having real photos makes it easier to know that these topics were not made up and were real events. The painted illustrations were done beautifully with real emotions on the characters’ faces. I love when people mix photos and paint mediums together because it makes the page stand out more. The content of the book was great because it discussed numerous topics in many ways. Sometimes the text mentioned a specific event like the bus boy cott and other times the pictures would illustrate show more important people or events like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. The plot of the book took the reader on a ride through the civil rights movement from discussing the different lifestyles of white Americans and African American by showing comparisons to in the current time where we are all one. But then, the book discussed how it only took ordinary people that helped make the transformation. I liked the quote, “ordinary people took change and did it even if the journey was hard.” This was a great message that it was not special people that made the change and that anyone can be the great leaders to make a difference in the world. This book is definitely 5 out of 5 stars. show less

This is a well written and nicely illustrated book! This is a book about how whites and coloreds were always to stay separated. It took several years for anyone to step up and try to fight for freedom, but four leaders help change the way it was for coloreds and whites.

personal reaction: I think that this is a great book about how we are all equal and should all be treated equal.

Classroom Extension: I would read the book to the children and tell them some of the history of freedom, we might even draw a picture from the book.

Although this book is written in rhymes it is by no means light hearted as it takes on life before and after the civil rights movement in a very straight forward way. The rhyming makes the book friendly for children while addressing a very serious subject. It is direct and to the point with a powerful ending of the message of the power of "dreaming of freedom". I think this book is a great way to introduce the civil rights movement to young kids, as it entails rhyming while maintaining the facts.