Rate this book

Dream Something Big (2011)

by Dianna Hutts Aston(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0803732457 (ISBN13: 9780803732452)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Dial

review 1: Engaging story about Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant who could barely read or write. For thirty four years, from 1921 to 1955, he fashioned broken pottery, tiles, shells, and glass into an imaginative land of birdbaths, fountains, and towers almost one hundred feet high, without nails, bolts, or even a ladder! He relied on rebar, cement, and wire mesh. This feat of creative perseverance is now a National Landmark and is located where it was created--East 107th Street, Los Angeles CA. Book is a tribute to an individual who put his architectural talent to good use. I wonder what he would have created with an actual education in architecture!
review 2: I think this is a great book about the Watts towers in Watts, California. The reason why I thought it should... more have won the Caldecott award is because the pictures looked so realistic. The artwork in the book is by Susan Roth and she actually created collages on the pages to depict the towers. What I thought was most interesting about the illustrations in the book was that it actually looked like artwork that a child might do. The people are very big and stick out on the pages. Also there is a lot of cut up pieces of paper featured in the background. This was very appeasing to the eye for me. Having a daughter of my own I get to see artwork and illustrations to "stories" all the time. When I read this book, I could immediately see the similarities in the two. Not only do I like the artwork, but the colors are also beautiful. They are bright but also have a duller background which makes the illustrations look so kid friendly. Overall I think the illustrations in the book are awesome and that kids reading the book will really enjoy the books. This book should have won the Caldecott because this is something children would like to see. Artwork that looks like what they can create :) less

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