The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan - Diversity

“Shoot for the moon, and if you miss you’ll land among the stars”

This was a great book which again caught my attention as it focuses around Netfali, an aspiring writer and poet who has to face his physically and mentally abusive father, but prevails to become one of the world’s greatest poets! Throughout the book we learn of Netfali’s family life and struggle with his father and how his father wants him to follow in the footsteps of the Chilean Andes. Unfortunately, Netfali chooses otherwise and decides to leave for a university in Santiago to continue on his aspiring path to become a writer and poet. We see how Netfali struggles to hold strong onto his dream through his father‘s persist comments for him to give up and to get a “real job.” Through the help of his stepmother and uncle though he is able to stand up to his father and pursue his dreams, which lead him farther than he would have ever imagined!

Reading Level - 5.3

 - This is a great review of the book that could be used in the classroom! It talks about the main themes that came up throughout the book and how to address that with your students.

 - This website reviews the main points of the book and gives the reader questions that can be asked regarding the story. Some of these questions can be used as a discussion guide in a classroom to get students talking about the story!

Vocabulary - Some words that might need to be pre- taught include ballast, cavern, elation, feeble, girth, luma, preen, swashbucklers, and wallowed.

Activities:

Before Reading:

A good before reading activity to this book would be to talk with your students about their own culture and ask them questions such as what makes them unique and special.

During Reading:

While the students are independently reading this book, have them write down several traits that make Netfali unique and why they think it might be difficult for him to be leaving his culture.

After Reading:

Once finished with reading the story, the teacher can extend this lesson by bringing in different cultures (ie: maybe the cultures that exist in the classroom) and have the students do a small research assignment on one of them to become more aware of diversity and the different cultures that exist in the world.

Ryan, P. M., & Sís, P. (2010). The dreamer. New York: Scholastic Press.