The Dream Keeper

[A] soothing, ethereal tale-within-a-tale, a girl draws and plays before bed… . The illustrations, appearing in side-by-side panels, capture the magic of the girl’s imagination in sometimes translucent watercolor splashes, illuminating a hopeful path through the frightening night. * Foreword Reviews (starred review) *
Walker suffuses the narrative with folkloric simplicity, her turtle serving an appealingly modern take on the classic archetype of a benevolent guardian of childhood dreams. The bright cheer of the soft pencil and watercolor illustrations slowly give way to the gloom of spray-painted shadows, but when the peace of dreaming arrives, all is bathed in sparkling motes of light. A cozy, ethereal read, perfect for bedtime and other gentle moments. * School Library Journal *
With few words, Walker beautifully blurs the borders between consciousness and sleep as the intrepid turtle’s actions result in tender dreams for the youngster. Vivid, expressive watercolors accentuated with spray paint use texture confidently—splotchy, speckled, and sparkling—to convey the story’s narrative arc. Sparkling, splendid artistic techniques create a world worth lingering in. * Kirkus Reviews *
Atmospheric watercolor, pencil, and spray-painted illustrations illuminate the nighttime obstacles that both characters face when their lights go out. Wordless spreads show their side-by-side, overlapping journeys of courage, perseverance, and help from friends. A luminous picture book about facing fears and finding beacons of light in the darkness. * Booklist *
Colored pencil, spray paint, and watercolor combine to create a dreamy atmosphere of delicately blurred lines and warm hazy coloring, while sequential scenes of full-page spreads are often paneled on a white background like a graphic novel. * The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books *

Anna Walker is an illustrator and author of picture books including Florette, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, A Life Song written by Jane Goodwin and Mr Huff, shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and winner of the CBCA book of the year Early Childhood. Using traditional mediums, Anna creates stories inspired by the quiet and sometimes joyful details of life. The Dream Keeper is her first Walker book. She lives in Melbourne.

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