A lovely book of simple, pleasing bilingual poems about dreaming, in every sense of the word.

The subject of the poems varied from nightmares, daydreams, and the author's grandma. The poems were written first in Spanish and then in English.

This was a neat book! Kind of hard to follow, just due to the fact that each page was a brand new poem and it was in two languages. However, the pictures were beautiful and it was interesting to read! ( )

I had mixed feelings about this poem for a few reasons. I liked it because the illustrations were creatively done and really represented what the poem was conveying. There were also many characters who all had a part in planting the garden, which created a sense of unity throughout the story. The poem was unfortunately too short for much character development, however the poet has all of the family members involved in tending to the garden. For example,

“Mama loves
To plant and nip
Flowery rosebuds

Abuelita keeps
Her mint herbs
In a small plot”

I did not like some parts of the poem however, including the overall language and the author’s attempts to keep the audience interested. I think the poem could have been a little more descriptive, maybe describing in an imaginative way the characters actions and thoughts. Instead of just narrating what was done, figurative language could have been used to engage the audience and create a more interesting poem. After reading, I think the message of the poem is that families can work together to create and maintain something great if everyone participates and they enjoy what they are doing. ( )

A bilingual collection of poems that touch on both American and Mexican culture, Poems to Dream Together celebrates family, community, and nature. With the theme of dreams, these poems would be great for students that enjoy poetry, and good read-alouds for students who are still hesitant about it. ESL students would also benefit from the English and Spanish side to side. ( )