Review Detail

Cassie feels that something is missing. Her dad lost his job, she has to share her bedroom, and no one really has time for her. In addition to all of this, her best friend, Vali, has found a new friend and is always busy with her.

Things start looking up when Cassie gets a letter from a magazine sweepstakes claiming she is the winner of several cool prizes. She thinks these prizes will solve all her problems; she can get a car so her family can take one trip instead of two, and she can get a vacation to take her friend with her so she can make her be her best friend forever. What happens if Cassie doesn’t win those prizes, though? Will the prizes really fix everything magically for her?

What I Liked: While the description of this story sounds like a lot is going on, this book does a great job of weaving in the multiple things in Cassie’s life. Throughout the story, you get a glimpse of how the many things going on are stacking up for Cassie and how this makes her feel. The many things going on in Cassie’s life pile up on each other, and it's interesting to see how one of them impacts the other.

The illustrations throughout this book do a great job of moving the story along and creating a captivating story. The illustrations are vibrant and help evoke different emotions while reading. They also do a great job of highlighting Cassie’s feelings through the various difficulties that she is facing, such as multiple arms reaching out for her mom when her mother is busy, or the disappointment on her face when people make fun of her.

Final Verdict: Dream on is a heartfelt book for children ages 8 and up, and does a great job of showing children with high sensitivity who have big emotions that this feature of theirs is not just a weakness but also a strength. Children will enjoy that some of their struggles are reflected in this story, such as navigating sharing your friend with someone else, and having your siblings take up your parents’ attention. This book also does an amazing job of tackling trying to fit in and how the things you do to fit in can negatively impact others.