In My Dreams - by Effie Lada (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An ode to our dreams, imagination and what makes us unique in our way.

We all have different dreams...some of them take us on magical adventures across new geographies and landscapes and some other times they take us soaring up to the sky. And you, what do you dream about? Through poetic language and striking illustrations, In My Dreams will take you on a sensory journey full of beauty and tranquility. As these dreams give way to light, we will realize the most magical state is that of being ourselves.

A poetic book about dreaming, waking up, and . . . daring to be yourself. For daydreamers ages 6 years and up.

Review Quotes

""Every night, dreams lull me to sleep. / I try to stay awake to see where they come from, / but I always drift off...." A nameless, light-skinned child with long dark hair takes readers on a tour of their dreams in this translation from Dutch. Much like in a dream, there is no continuous plot or narrative, but Lada's gentle prose floats between reveries about beautiful clothes, the sea, and a rainy evening, all depicted with naïve illustrations that appear to be rendered in pencil. Forest animals in human clothes, friendly fish, and smiling children, most of whom have skin the white of the page, all welcome readers to the maze of dreamland in hazy shades of gray with a few pops of color. We see the narrator floating above the world on a feather and wandering through a garden. When the narrator winds their way back to the waking world, the visuals switch to full-color images with a watercolorlike look. The child now appears rested and confident: "I look the world in the eye / and...I am myself." Ephemeral imagery and a sleepy pace will surely bring only good dreams to tired young readers. A welcoming wind down." - Kirkus Reviews

"The nature of dreams is explored in this book of few words with stunning illustrations. A young girl describes the strange nature of her dreams, ever-changing apart from the last one that brings her back to consciousness. The dreams are illustrated in grayscale pencil apart from a single element on every page--a pink umbrella, a school of orange fish--until the girl peels back the corner of her dream and lets in the light and colors of the day." - Foreword Reviews *Starred Review*

Children's Book Council April 2023 Hot Off the Press reading list

About the Author

Effie Lada was born in a small village in the western Peloponnese of Greece. She studied painting at a private school and has published more than 120 books. Her books have been translated into Italian, Korean, Russian, Chinese, Croatian, Turkish, and Romanian. Effie has taken part in international competitions and illustration exhibitions, and she was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2011 as well as the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2012.