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Title details for Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle - Available

Drum Dream Girl

How One Girl's Courage Changed Music

by Margarita Engle
Adriana Sananes
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule—until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongós. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream. Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 24, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666590357
      • File size: 3086 KB
      • Duration: 00:06:25

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Adriana Sananes's beautiful tone and accent artfully capture the true story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl. In 1930s Cuba--the island of music--playing drums was taboo for girls. Sananes portrays the spirited sounds of Zaldarriaga's brave quest to play the drums. Listeners will feel they're privy to the girl's playing in secret until her father relents and hires a tutor. Sananes's lively pronunciation of adjectives adds to the richly descriptive story. Marvelous sound effects of pounding on tall congas and tapping on small bongos as well as the clucking of chickens who make up Zaldarriaga's audience provide authenticity. Most gratifying is hearing the historical notes, which reveal that she gained critical acclaim as a drummer, even playing for President Franklin Roosevelt's birthday. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 19, 2015
      A riot of tropical color adds sabor to the tale of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who dreams “of pounding tall conga drums,/ tapping small bongó drums/ and boom boom booming/ with long, loud sticks/ on big, round, silvery/ moon-bright timbales.” Everybody in Cuba believes that only boys should play the drums, and her own father forbids her to perform, but the “drum dream girl” (as she’s referred to throughout) finds her own drums, practices, and persists until her father relents and hires a teacher. Lopez’s (Tito Puente, Mambo King) paintings fuse dream and reality as the girl flies through the air, drumming on the moon and making music with butterflies and birds; Engle’s (Silver People) lines dance with percussive sound words and rhythmic repetition. Though an afterword reveals that Zaldarriaga later became famous enough to perform for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Engle focuses on her initial struggles rather than her subsequent career. A valuable addition to the growing library of stories about strong Latina women. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Stefanie von Borstel, Full Circle Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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