In The Dream Catcher by author-illustrator Marcelo Verdad, a young boy is awakened by his grandfather who lets him know it’s time for work. Soon they will head out for the day to sell cold coconuts and macrame dream catchers along México’s Oaxaca coast.
“Look how many coins I have already, Abuelito,” Miguelito says, holding up a jar of coins to his white-haired abuelo. “Do you think this is enough to buy an airplane?”
His grandpa tells him they’re getting closer.
At home, Miguelito has been hard at work on his dream catchers. His mom taught him how to weave them. The knotted textile creations make him feel close to his parents, he confesses to his abuelo.
The Dream Catcher (out on May 14 from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) is a poignant story about a boy with a big dream: to make enough money to buy an airplane someday so he could reunite with his parents. Miguelito’s story is rooted in a photo Verdad saw years ago of a young boy selling dream catchers on a beach. The image stayed with him. “In a sense, I wanted to honor all of our kids living under unfavorable circumstances and create a space for them to feel seen,” said Verdad, who was born and raised in México and now resides in Los Angeles.
In his tender picture book, Verdad brings readers into the direct and deep conversations between Miguelito and his grandfather as they work, daring his audience to question what a dream means to them. At one point, the young boy peers up at his grandfather and asks if dreams come true.
With themes of poverty and class, readers of The Dream Catcher may feel compelled to pause and reflect on the stark differences in the dreams held by people from different circumstances. This is done very effectively through Verdad’s text and illustrations, the latter of which include people of even lesser means than his young protagonist. Even with the heaviness that comes with realizing that not all dreams happen for everyone, there’s a ray of hope that emanates from Miguelito and Abuelito’s story.
Ahead of The Dream Catcher’s release, Verdad spoke with Latinx in Publishing about the inspiration behind his book, dreams, and more.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Amaris Castillo (AC): What inspired you to write this book?
Marcelo Verdad (MV): Years ago, I found this picture of a young kid selling his dream catchers on the beach, and that image just got stuck in my head. I felt the urge to draw it myself. And as soon as I finished the piece, I knew that this kid had a story to tell. It took me some years, but eventually I was able to listen to him and to write the story that he wanted to tell.
AC: In your book, Miguelito has big dreams to sell enough art to buy an airplane and reunite his family. It is both beautiful yet heartbreaking to read this. How did you decide on this dream for him?
MV: I’m an art teacher, and I work with kids – which I love. What I value the most about being close to my kids is learning from their innocence and their imagination. They really help me reconnect with my inner child, and remember my own innocence and imagination. In this case, Miguelito’s wish needed to represent that innocence and imagination that I find so pure in kids, and that I love.
Another key aspect about Miguelito was his background. I’m born and raised in México, and that’s exactly how I feel a lot of times when I think of my country. It’s beyond gorgeous. It’s so rich and so beautiful, but yet heartbreaking at times. But also life itself, in that it can be both beautiful yet heartbreaking. And that’s the story that I wanted to tell this time, about life on Earth. I’m not very into fairy tale happy endings, but I wanted to do something honest and full of life and heart.
AC: The entire book consists of direct quotes – conversations between Miguelito and his Abuelito. You don’t see that often in picture books. Why did you structure the story in this way?
MV: I’m both an author and illustrator, but I went to college to study art and design so I’m naturally more of a visual storyteller. I enjoy meaningful minimalism, so I heavily rely on my illustrations to tell the story. And anything that I can’t show visually, that’s when I tell. There’s this thing that authors and illustrators always say: “Show, don’t tell.” So that’s what I try to do first: show through my images. And anything that I can’t show, I just tell it.
I love, love, love keeping a text to a minimum. I’m a bit of an edit freak, so anytime me, my agent, or my editor suggests getting rid of lines and it works, I get really, really happy lowering the word count. In my first book, The Worst Teddy Ever, I used a mix of dialogue and an omnipresent narrator trying to play with the reader by giving them more information than what the main character knew as the story progressed. And that resulted in a fun and engaging tiny book. But this time, what I was trying to do with the dialogue in The Dream Catcher was to make it feel more intimate and personal. And the reader, in my mind, gets to experience a personal and deep conversation between a kid and his guide and protector, in his realm. And I wanted it to feel almost as a conversation with the universe, with life, or a caring and loving being from a higher realm – offering support, wisdom, and guidance throughout Miguelito’s consciousness and spiritual journey.
“...I see this book as an homage to their innocence, their resilience, and generosity in a beautiful and respectful way. ”
AC: There is so much you do visually in The Dream Catcher. We see the beauty of Oaxaca coast, and the harsh reality of people of lesser means. What was it like to bring this all to the page?
MV: To me, it just feels honest. And me being born and raised in México and then coming to LA, where I live currently, that’s just a part of the reality that I experienced. In a sense, I wanted to honor all of our kids living under unfavorable circumstances and create a space for them to feel seen. And I see this book as an homage to their innocence, their resilience, and generosity in a beautiful and respectful way. I also wanted to share visually my favorite place from my country, and showcase all the magic, beauty, richness and culture that inspire me so much. It makes me feel extremely proud of being mexicano and Latino.
AC: What are you hoping readers take away from The Dream Catcher?
MV: I think that it’s human to have dreams and plans and hopes for the future. I think that we all have them. But at the same time, I feel it’s really important not to get lost in those so we can stay present and be grateful for what’s already here and now. I believe the dream called ‘today’ is the one thing that’s real, and everything else is an illusion. I’d love (it) if The Dream Catcher worked as a tiny reminder to stay grateful in the present moment, and to always keep faith even under difficult circumstances.
Photo: Ximena Verdad
Marcelo Verdad is an author and illustrator from México who likes to tell stories from unconventional perspectives. He graduated from ArtCenter College of Design, where he came upon the Children's Book Illustration class and immediately fell in love with kids' books. He is a member of SCBWI, and was one of the recipients of the Mentorship Award at SCBWI’s 2019 Summer Conference. The Worst Teddy Ever is his picture book debut. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family and dog.
