If you find yourself staring into space, focused on whatever, you’re not wasting time.
You’re dreaming and that’s important.
“Our lives these days (in particular being tethered to devices) aren’t really congenial to the kind of disengagement that invites dreaming,” said Irma Di Renzo, author of What I Dream I Can Do.
It’s a children’s book, but since children are expert dreamers, the message may be more important for adults.
Most of us can relate to the first lines of the book.
“I close my eyes and take a rest …. This is when I think the best.”
It’s only 24 pages, but the simple prose and remarkable artwork leave an impression. It makes you think about thinking and dream about dreaming.
Di Renzo’s inspiration comes from many years of working with children as a facilitator at a drop-in literacy program and through her own experiences as a mother.
The book is illustrated by Suzanne Pleau and her son Cole.
Cole is a 22-year-old with a profound form of autism.
“My relationship with Suzanne began several years ago when we both served on the Huron-Superior Special Education Advisory Committee,” said Di Renzo.
Pleau lovingly calls her son’s art his ‘scribbles.’
Combined with Di Renzo’s written pearls of thought and introspection, the scribbler and scribe unite to bring the book to life.
“In my wildest dreams I could never conceive what flows so freely from you and your pencils,” wrote Di Renzo about Cole’s imagination and Suzanne’s ability to give it form.
In this era of on-line reading, Di Renzo still sees books as a valuable way to connect, especially with children.
“You run your fingers over a book, especially a picture book,” she said. “It’s tactile.”
When she worked at the family literacy centre Di Renzo saw the power of books during storytime with children who interacted with the pictures.
“Children are experts at ‘being and when we’re in their company, it doesn’t take long to catch the energy of their joy in doing just that,” she says. “Their curiosity and appreciation for everything they can see, hear, taste, touch and feel, is palpable. This affirming picture book enters a child’s world of bottomless wonder where big feelings are distilled into small words, and where the lilt of rhyme gives rise to shared delight and dreams.”
What I Dream I Can Do has been produced in hardcover, softcover, e-book, and audiobook formats, and is available to order from a number of online retailers, including:
bookdepository.com amazon.com
amazon.ca barnesandnoble.com
chapters.indigo.ca