Animal Dreams

Animal Dreams by poet, teacher and children's author, Fred Burstein, is a special way of seeing how children see the creatures of their imagination. In this case, it's a baby buffalo, a horse, a goldfinch, and a pod of whales. Each animal has a special message to impart to the dreaming boy, who, one imagines is the author. The animal dreams come swiftly on magical hooves, wings and fins. Every morning, after the dream, the boy asks his mother questions. Sometimes, it's the mom who asks the questions. They each, in their way, seek the meaning of the dreams and find that each dream animal is a fortifying friend -- a creature of spiritual power giving the dreaming boy strength and insight, and most of all, love. As a result of mother and son talking about the dream animals, the reader comes away feeling that the dream is not just imagination but reality. The illustrations that accompany the stories are as beautiful as the poet's way with words and they fully complement one another. Anna Burstein, the illustrator is a painter whose dream-like images are softly enchanting, dreams all by themselves.