Someday

We all want our kids to dream, and dream big. But never have I read such a glistening example of a how a child's dreams co-exist with her (and with our adult) realities, until I picked up Eileen Spinelli's Someday. With lyrical lines such as, "Someday I will make friends with a dolphin. I will call her Wilma. I will ask Wilma to tell me all the secrets of the sea, and she will. Someday...", followed on the opposite page with, "Right now I am flaking fish food flakes into the bowl where my pet goldfish pumpkin lives. He blows tiny bubbles but doesn't talk to me. Maybe goldfish don't have secrets to tell..." the author creates a timeless expose of the wonder years. Thirty-two pages of beautifully illustrated (Rosie Winstead) lines remind us parents that kids really do have the power to be everyone, and everything. It reminds us that the possibilities truly are endless. Which is a delightful thing to be reminded of. -Reviewed by Jill Mackenzie

A charming and delightful book, Someday encourages children to imagine a world beyond their own and assures them that although their every day life may seem boring now, the future is for them to create. This is one book I never tire of reading to my daughter, and it will be on our gift list for every girl we know.

"Someday" is a little gem of a book that centers on a little girl who dreams about what she'd like to be in the future, such as an artist, a paleontologist, a scientist, gymnast etc - and how she 'prepares' for these roles in the present - through simple, everyday activities like helping her dad paint the shed, digging for coins under the cushions, doing cartwheels etc. The illustrations are delightful with a touch of whimsy throughout. A lovely picture book to be shared with young readers and read aloud - and to encourage those dreams that one can be anything one desires.

In the words of my five your old daughter, "Every little girl should have this book!"

Eileen Spinelli's picturebook Someday is brilliant. Strong female characters are always easy to gravitate to - and Spinelli's hero in this picturebook story is one to remember and has universal appeal. (In fact, she is reminiscent of Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl. I guess it all makes sense being that Jerry Spinelli based his Stargirl character on his wife and best friend Eileen! As an upper elementary school to high school teacher, imagine having your students investigate this wonderful picturebook as a possible prequel to Stargirl!!) The text starts out: "Someday I am going to be an artist. I will wear a blue smock. I will carry my pants to the beach..." The affirming and confident text represents the main character's strong voice. This voice and all the little girl expects to be one day is also reminiscent of the international best-seller The Secret. (The Secret's notion of thinking and imagining confidently.) This little girl does just that! The Secret Buy this book and read it aloud to anyone and everyone who will listen.