Hank Has a Dream

$16.99
by Rebecca Dudley

Shop Now
In this poetic tale, Hank dreams that he can fly. Come along for the ride as he recreates the dream for his little friend. How far will Hank fly? What will he see? How high will he go? These dreamland mysteries capture his friend's imagination and they will capture yours too. The enchanting images of Rebecca Dudley's meticulously crafted dioramas set the scene for this gentle fantasy. Readers will set sail, gliding through Hank's world as he discovers the wonders of flight and the magic of friendship. This gentle, uplifting fantasy by the author of the bestselling Hank Finds an Egg highlights the magic of friendship and lets young readers' imagination soar. Rebecca Dudley's highly praised, hand-crafted dioramas and characters -- combined with minimal text -- will entertain and delight. K-Gr 2—Hank is a little stuffed creature who lives in a beautiful forest. He tells his dream to his hummingbird friend, and as he describes it on one side of the spread, readers follow his account on the facing page. Throughout, Dudley takes readers inside the magical forest of Storywoods and Hank's world. The vistas are lush and the detail marvelously intricate. Young readers will be enthralled with Dudley's ability to create movement in stationary characters. This is the kind of book that appeals to anyone who has the luxury of remembering dreams and to those whose imaginations create worlds only found in dreams.—Krishna Grady, Darien Library, CT 'Last night I dreamed I flew!' announces Hank, the bear/monkeylike critter from Hank Finds an Egg , before proceeding to regale his hummingbird friend with a step-by-step recounting of his dream. Dudley again stages the action in carefully crafted and photographed dioramas, this time creating lovely parallels between the 'real' and dream action of the story. On the left side of each spread, Hank races through the forest, sits on a rope bridge, and swings from a tree. Each action mirrors events from his dream, which are shown in scenes that appear at right, with Hank floating over rivers and through the clouds in a delicate, translucent airship. Readers will find Hank's subconscious travels every bit as enticing as his forest wanderings. --Publishers Weekly Starred Review As before, Dudley's images are awesome: delicate dioramas handmade from materials like clay, paper, wire, and fabric and then photographed with shallow focus to make them come popping to life. The tone is understated and sweet, and when the hummingbird asks to hear the entire dream again, Hank complies and adult readers should also be ready to accede to similar requests from their listeners. --American Library Association Booklist ''Meticulously crafted.'' --Kirkus ''It's a tribute to Hank, the stuffed animal photographed for this entrancing tale, that you don't pause to try to categorize him. Is he a monkey, a dog, a bear, or all three? It doesn't matter, because from the moment you set eyes on his lopsided hand-sewn face, he is strangely, magically, unmistakably alive. This kind of transformation occurs only occasionally in children's literature -- I was reminded of the 'Lonely Doll' books by Dare Wright -- and when you find it, you don't quibble about monkey noses and dog tails. Dudley, an artist who lives in Evanston, photographs Hank moving through a series of woodsy diorama scenes that are at once unapologetically make-believe and strikingly familiar. There are meticulously constructed prairies, creeks and oak trees; there's even a glimpse of what could be Lake Michigan. We first find Hank sleeping in a bed of leaves, his hummingbird friend perched in the tree above him, and then it's morning, and Hank is telling his pal about his dream ('I flew!'). In the panels that follow, Hank gives the bird an action-packed step-by-step account, with each real-world demonstration (Hank leans on a swing to show how he peered down at the ground) followed by a depiction of the same moment in the dream (Hank leans out of his flying machine, which is hovering above a grassy field). The gentle sweetness of this tale is undeniable; 'Hank,' which will be released October 15, is a great choice for bedtime reading. But older readers will also appreciate the book's quiet heft and complexity: the layer upon layer of make-believe, the shadows in the corners of bright landscapes, the poignancy of a very small creature venturing forth in a very big world.'' --Nara Schoenberg --Chicago Tribune ''It's a tribute to Hank, the stuffed animal photographed for this entrancing tale, that you don't pause to try to categorize him. Is he a monkey, a dog, a bear, or all three? It doesn't matter, because from the moment you set eyes on his lopsided hand-sewn face, he is strangely, magically, unmistakably alive. This kind of transformation occurs only occasionally in children's literature -- I was reminded of the 'Lonely Doll' books by Dare Wright -- and when you find it, you don't quibble about monkey noses and dog tails. Dudley, an artist

Customer Reviews

No ratings. Be the first to rate

 customer ratings


How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review This Product

Share your thoughts with other customers