MY DREAM PLAYGROUND

An unnamed young girl tells readers how the empty lot down the street from her urban apartment became her dream playground—and the part she played in its unfolding.

Becker traces the beginnings of a city playground to a young girl who spends every afternoon drawing pictures of her dream playground. Encouraged by her mother to “[n]ever stop dreaming,” she is unsurprised but thrilled to see a man arrive at the lot with a measuring tape and clipboard—she knows he is there to build her playground. Grabbing her drawings, she approaches him, and so begins a business relationship, with her serving as the project manager. Darell consults her on every aspect of the playground’s design, and after months of planning, the whole community, the young girl included, comes together as volunteers to make the dream playground a reality. Henry’s digital illustrations have the look and feel of watercolors, and the pages of the young girl’s drawings are charmingly childlike in their detail, execution and use of imagination. An author’s note tells of the real-life little girl who inspired this story. For those who want to take a more active role in making their dreams a reality, nonprofit KaBOOM! has a website for communities to plan, fundraise and build their own playgrounds. This book may inspire more than dreams. (Picture book. 4-8)