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    Dream Something Big

    Author Dianna Hutts Aston
    Illustrated by Susan L. Roth
    Ebook
    Penguin Young Readers | Dial Books
    On sale Aug 18, 2011 | 40 Pages | 9781101647974
    Grades K-3
    Reading Level: Lexile AD830L
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    Between 1921 and 1955, Italian immigrant Simon Rodia transformed broken glass, seashells, pottery, and a dream to "do something big" into a U.S. National Landmark. Readers watch the towers rise from his little plot of land in Watts, California, through the eyes of a fictional girl as she grows and raises her own children. Chronicled in stunningly detailed collage that mimics Rodia's found-object art, this thirty-four-year journey becomes a mesmerizing testament to perseverance and possibility. A final, innovative "build-your-own-tower" activity makes this multicultural, intergenerational tribute a classroom natural and a perfect gift-sure to encourage kids to follow their own big dreams.
    Dianna Hutts Aston View titles by Dianna Hutts Aston
    Susan L. Roth is the author and illustrator of many beautiful books for children. To create the collages for her books, Ms. Roth uses papers from sixteen baskets in her studio, which are lined up by color. View titles by Susan L. Roth
    “[Aston’s] winding, poetic language evokes the strange beauty of the sculptures themselves.” — Booklist

    About

    Between 1921 and 1955, Italian immigrant Simon Rodia transformed broken glass, seashells, pottery, and a dream to "do something big" into a U.S. National Landmark. Readers watch the towers rise from his little plot of land in Watts, California, through the eyes of a fictional girl as she grows and raises her own children. Chronicled in stunningly detailed collage that mimics Rodia's found-object art, this thirty-four-year journey becomes a mesmerizing testament to perseverance and possibility. A final, innovative "build-your-own-tower" activity makes this multicultural, intergenerational tribute a classroom natural and a perfect gift-sure to encourage kids to follow their own big dreams.

    Author

    Dianna Hutts Aston View titles by Dianna Hutts Aston
    Susan L. Roth is the author and illustrator of many beautiful books for children. To create the collages for her books, Ms. Roth uses papers from sixteen baskets in her studio, which are lined up by color. View titles by Susan L. Roth

    Praise

    “[Aston’s] winding, poetic language evokes the strange beauty of the sculptures themselves.” — Booklist

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