In the Spirit of a Dream

October 15, 2021
These poems celebrating immigrants of color are "created, written and illustrated by first- and second-generation immigrants of color." The biographies are of people from different parts of the world who have come to the United States and made significant contributions in their various fields, raising awareness of their many challenges and the wide range of immigration stories. They include the well known, like Somali American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who's Chinese American, as well as ones whose achievements are far less recognized, like Paralympic medalist Alejandro Albor, a Mexican American; Korean American comics artist Jim Lee; and the Latinx poet/activist group, the Undocupoets. The inspirational, free-verse poems, all penned by Salazar, briefly share each immigrant's journey to the United States and beyond. One double-page spread is allotted to each, each illustrated by a different artist; the art is diverse in style, uniformly well crafted, and appropriately kid focused for each subject. Tracy Guiteau's portrait of a young Edwidge Danticat, for instance, places her with a giant pencil and a blank book against the bright buildings of Port-au-Prince. Backmatter includes brief extended bios of all the people featured along with contributor bios and notes from Chau, who conceived the book, and Salazar. Though a natural choice during immigration and poetry units, it's more an inspiration and introduction than a research tool in itself. A lyrical look at challenges faced by immigrants of color and how they've flourished. (Picture book/poetry. 8-12)

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October 15, 2021
Grades 1-3 This unites the stories of 13 immigrants of color who have made important contributions to American society. The individuals featured in this collection come from all over the world and have excelled in a range of fields: Alejandro Albor, paralympic medalist from Mexico; David Tran from Vietnam, inventor of Sriracha; Edwidge Danticat, writer from Haiti. The biographies, descriptive and detailed, are written by Salazar (The Land of the Cranes, 2020) as poems and illustrated by Aida Salazar and Alina Chau in vibrant, varied styles. Salazar and illustrators themselves hail from backgrounds as diverse as their subjects, and readers should pay attention to their brief bios in the back matter. This celebration of talent and exceptionalism comes with a reminder of the levels of prejudice each immigrant encountered, casting their achievements as acts of resistance as much as resilience.

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November 15, 2021
This encouraging free verse poetry collection written by Salazar and illustrated by 13 artists—all of whom are “first- and second-generation immigrants of color”—profiles as many people of color who have emigrated to America. Framing poems serve as introduction and conclusion to
biographies that cover figures with accomplishments in sports, music, literature, STEM, politics, and more. In a spread profiling Sriracha sauce creator David Tran, the Vietnamese entrepreneur is described in moving conversational verse, as art by Chau portrays a warm painted collage of Tran and his journey: “Everyone raved about Sriracha’s yumminess/ as word moved from happy mouth to happy mouth.” The spreads present each figure in a distinctive, varied style as Salazar gamely shares their challenges and successes. Back matter includes extended biographies, an anthologist note by Chau, and an author’s note by Salazar. Ages 5–7.