I Dreamed I Was a Dog
Written and Illustrated by Joel Nakamura
$17.95 HARDCOVER with Jacket
ISBN 978-1945652905
FULL COLOR | 32 Pages | 10 x 9
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK
2017

“The universe is a dream dreamed by a single dreamer where all the dream characters dream too.”
–Arthur Schopenhauer

Inspired by this famous quote, Joel Nakamura’s vivid, colorful illustrations transport readers on a magical journey that begins as a young boy falls asleep and dreams that he is a dog. Populated with animals and beautiful scenes of the natural world, the story shows the interconnection between all creatures in the vastness of the universe. A perfect bedtime story for readers of all ages!

PRAISE for I Dreamed I Was a Dog

“Using a Schopenhauer quotation as inspiration and epigraph (“The universe is a dream dreamed by a single dreamer where all the dream characters dream too”), Nakamura languidly traces a boy’s ever-evolving dream. The boy begins the night as a “dog with red fur and purple spots, chewing on a giant bone,” but soon transforms into a dinosaur (the red dog is now cast in a best friend role), train, cloud, and more. Nakamura uses the same folk art–inflected style seen in 2015’s Go West!, and his vivid acrylic paintings are tattooed with dots and patterns that bring an almost psychedelic energy to the pages. When the dream turns extraterrestrial, the boy turns into a flying saucer, piloted by the same red dog; clouds, bones, and birds can be seen amid the circuitlike panels on its gleaming exterior, harking back to the boy’s earlier incarnations. Most readers already have a sense of the unpredictable malleability of dreams, an idea Nakamura evocatively explores while emphasizing connections between humans, nature, and the larger cosmos. Ages 3–7. (Nov.)”
–PUBLISHERS WEEKLY