THE DREAMER

Dreaming of flight, a mint-green pig plans, fails, perseveres, and triumphs.

“Once, there was a pig who admired birds.” Wishing he could fly south with them, this impressively STEM-y fellow gets to work. “There was much to learn. // And gather. / But his first flying machines / fell / flat.” Na humorously depicts the pig’s elaborate initial diagrams on an enormous board. After many prototypes fail, the pig finds new inspiration, and a trio of animal friends comes to assist. “But even with help, it was not easy. // So he listened. // And modified. / Momentum built.” The successful machine—looking like a cross between a biplane and a glider, the pig’s red-shoed legs dangling underneath—leads him to even bigger aspirations. A later spread even shows him emerging from a rocket on the moon. Back on Earth, the pig’s realized dreams ignite a whole city full of animals, who are shown gamboling aloft via balloons, jet packs, rockets, and more. Na’s digitally composed ink-and-pencil illustrations contrast soft pastel compositions with starry nightscapes. As the pig continues to dream and observe—the last spread ends with the opening line—further experiments and rich adventures seem inevitable.

Na’s spare, gentle text, whimsical pictures, and stick-to-it message are sure to engage young readers who’ve got dreams of their own.