Biographical Poetry

Bibliography

Engle, Margarita. DRUM DREAM GIRL: HOW ONE GIRL’S COURAGE CHANGED MUSIC. 2015. Ill. by Rafael Lopez. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544102293

Summary

On an island filled with the sound of music, one girl is determined to play the drum, an instrument forbidden to females. Despite the obstacles laid out before her, the girl continues her quest in secret. At first, her father sides with the age-old tradition of only allowing boys to play the drum, but eventually decides to seek out a teacher for his daughter’s talent. The teacher is so impressed with the girl’s musical ability that he is able to find a venue for her to perform for others. Her musical ability is undeniable and the decision is made to allow girls to also play drums. This poetic picture book is based on the life of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, who broke the gender barrier and was able to fulfill her dream of playing drums. 

Quality and Appeal

Margarita Engle has written a free verse poem picture book that flows as rhythmically as the beating, tapping, and rippling of the drum sounds heard throughout the selection. The text is simply written with non-rhyming prose. The author’s word choice is congruent with the sounds that depict the cadence of the drum dream girl’s home. An example of this cadence would be at the introduction as the girl gazes upon the moon the words are written, “on an island of music /in a city of drumbeats.” Illustrator Rafael Lopez has distinctly conveyed the passion and dreams of the drum girl through vivid, colorful illustrations. Adding to the layout of the book are two vertically arranged illustrations with depictions of “towering dancers on stilts” at carnivals and another of the girl looking up at a birdcage, enclosed inside is a drum with wings just waiting to be free. This last illustration reminded me of the image from Maya Angelou’s autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Although confined by bars, a dream cannot be imprisoned. The end of the book includes historical notes, which consist of the inspiration behind the poem and details about the life of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, including performing in the United States for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is clearly justifiable why Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez were chosen as the 2016 Pura Belpre Award winners for Drum Dream Girl.

Poetic elements that can be seen and heard throughout the poem include the element of sound. Alliteration is heard in the lines, “in a city of drumbeats / the drum dream girl / dreamed,” and “when she walked under / wind-wavy palm trees.” Another example of sound includes the use of onomatopoeia. A sampling of this element of sound consist of  “boom boom booming,” “she heard the whir of parrot wings / the clack of woodpecker beaks,” “rattling beat,” “dragon clang,” and “rapped and pounded.”

Figurative language, in the form of similes, can be observed on two different pages as outdoor cafes are compared to gardens. The lines read, “At outdoor cafes that looked liked gardens,” and “outdoors at a starlit garden / that looked like a garden.” Repetition is also evident when the girl is given the opportunity to work with a music teacher. The words heard are “more /and more / and more,” as well as “and she practiced / and she practiced/and she practiced.”

Sense imagery of hearing is identifiable throughout the book with the author’s extended use of sound words for the conga drums, bongo drums, sticks, and timbales (a cylindrical drum played with sticks in Latin American music). The sense of hearing is flawlessly presented with the lines “but when she closed her eyes / she could also hear / her own imaginary music.”  The reader can also find sense imagery of sight as you observe the illustrations of the drum girl dreaming visions of her drum playing.

The emotional tone for Drum Dream Girl invokes moods of determination and aspiration. Although drum girl was repeatedly told that she could never play the drums because “only boys should play drums,” she continued to defy tradition, if only in her dreams. I personally feel that the story offers a positive message not only for girls, but boys alike. I was particularly impressed with the closing lines of  “and both girls and boys / should feel free / to dream.”

Drum Dream Girl will appeal to both young and older readers. The young girl’s strength and determination promotes a message to readers that one should continue to pursue their dreams even though others around them may try to stifle that dream. The story also opens up discussion about discrimination against the female gender and the opportunities that are limited only to males. The book also invites discussion into the diversity of multiethnic cultures. Millo Castro Zaldarriaga was a Chinese-African-Cuban living on the Caribbean island of Cuba. The story not only acquaints the reader with the history of music in Cuba, but also inspires others that change can occur when only a dream was once thought.

Spotlight Poem

Her hands seemed to fly

as they rippled

rapped

and pounded

all the rhythms

of her drum dreams.

(Excerpt from Drum Dream Girl)

In this excerpt from Drum Dream Girl the element of onomatopoeia is shown with the inclusion of the words rippled, rapped, and pounded. I also chose this poem because I felt the illustration paired well with the words. The sun is depicted smiling down upon the girl, who is floating above the ground with a pair of butterfly wings. The birds flying around her have wings and feathers as well, but have human legs instead of bird-like legs. The foliage is portrayed as flowers with drums blooming within the center of the flowers. There is quite a bit of symbolism portrayed within the text and illustration.

Connections

Read the book/poem aloud to students as they close their eyes and use their sense of sound to hear the variety of “sound” words heard. After listening to the poem, have students begin to list all the words they could “hear” with their eyes closed. Chart the words on paper and write a class poem describing their drum. Students can also illustrate the images the see in their mind as the poem is read to them. As an extension, collaborate with the music teacher and give students the opportunity to play a variety of drums available at school. After playing the instruments, students can write about the way they felt playing the different drums, using sound words.