Inspire readers to follow their dreams
Mateo and his father carve juguetes, small wooden animals their family sells at the fiestas in Oaxaca. But Mateo wants to create great big carvings of goats that are pink as bougainvillea and have cactus-green speckles; purple cats with corn-yellow spots; and rose-colored jaguars. When he tells his father his dream, he's scolded for his foolishness, but Mateo perseveres and at the next fiesta, everyone wants one of his creations! Including an informative afterword on this vibrant Mexican art form, this colorful tale encourages readers of all ages to follow their dreams.

Meet the author, Diana Cohn

One of my favorite teachers once said to me, "I don't write, I erase." Sometimes that is how it is when I am writing (or erasing) a story! When I first start to work on a story it is because I am deeply delighted by the subject I am writing about. I have been passionately interested in many things, including the very special wood carving that is done in southern Mexico, which is why I wrote the story Dream Carver.

When I am interested in a subject I do a lot of research. I interview many people and sometimes, if I am lucky, I get to travel to special places. Most of all, I use my imagination. As I delve into the subject, characters begin to come to life, just like Mateo, the main character in Dream Carver. Soon a conflict develops, and slowly a story begins to take form. The story is where I organize, synthesize, and pull together all the conversations, research, and observations I have made. However, getting from the idea of a story to a completed manuscript takes time and requires a lot of writing and erasing and then more writing. But most of all, it is a lot of fun.

For as long as I can remember I have loved poetry. When writing picture books, the challenge is to write simply and in strong images, like when writing a poem. Then it is up to the artist to bring his or her vision to the words. So I see a picture book as a dance between words and images—like the dance between writer and artist. Amy Cordova, who created all the paintings for Dream Carver, and I traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, to work on our book together. Just like the writer, the artist also has to do a lot of research and observation in order for the words and images to be in sync. We worked together so the words and the images in our book would move together in rhythm.

Why am I so happy about Dream Carver? Because it is about carving your dreams into life. In the story, Mateo carves his dreams into life by actually carving wooden animals in a new way—a way never done before. But for him to make this happen, he had to begin—first in his imagination and then by taking a step and by making lots of mistakes—to make his dream come true.

One of my dreams was to publish a picture book for children. So I took the first step—by writing and then by erasing and then again by writing. I know that every child I meet has a dream of her or his own, and as the poet Goethe is quoted in the beginning of the book, "whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it." I hope Dream Carver will inspire you to begin your dreams now—whatever they are. And if this book helps you take that first step, I would love to hear how it is going.

You can email Diana at diana@dreamcarver.org