The Dreamer

The Dreamer (2010), written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrated by Peter Sís, is an illustrated novel marketed for middle-grade audiences. Set in 20th-century Chile, The Dreamer recounts the story of Neftalí Reyes, based on the life and childhood of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Sensorial illustrations accompany elements of biography, magical realism, and poetry in this story about a boy’s transformation into a world-renowned artist. The story follows Neftalí on his journey to define himself and pursue his dreams, discovering language’s power to inspire and connect people along the way.

Pam Muñoz Ryan is the author of more than 30 books for young readers, including Esperanza Rising and Paint the Wind. She earned the National Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights Award and the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for multicultural literature. Peter Sís is a MacArthur Fellow, a Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award winner, and a three-time Caldecott Honoree. His picture books include Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei and The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain.

The Dreamer won the NAPPA Gold Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor in 2010. It was also the first winner of the Carla Cohen Free Speech Award. In 2011, The Dreamer won the Pen USA Award, the Pura Belpré Medal, the Américas Award, and the Nautilus Book Award.

This guide uses the e-book edition of the text published in 2013 by Scholastic Inc.

Plot Summary

The Dreamer takes place in Temuco, Chile, where Neftalí Reyes lives with his father, stepmother, and two siblings. The story is narrated from a third-person point of view, limited to Neftalí’s inner thoughts and feelings. Neftalí loves to read and daydream, but his overbearing father disapproves of such activities. He wants Neftalí to get stronger and focus on studying math and science, so he can one day have a successful career in business or medicine. Neftalí and his siblings, Rodolfo and Laurita, live in fear of displeasing Father, who communicates with insults and humiliation. Neftalí’s stepmother Mamadre is kind and loving, though she defers to her husband’s authority when it comes to the children.

Neftalí feels alone and, at times, invisible. It’s implied he has no friends because of his shyness, stutter, and interests that aren’t shared by the other children in his community. He’s fascinated by nature and an avid collector of its treasures—rocks, twigs, bird’s nests, and the like. Neftalí finds inspiration in everyday objects, and when he daydreams, his surroundings come to life and transport him to magical worlds of adventure. These moments of bliss are interspersed by persistent self-doubt and anxiety prompted by his father’s oppressive presence.

When Neftalí is eight and finally old enough to go on a train ride with Father into the forest, he can barely contain his excitement. Rodolfo warns him not to expect a nicer version of their father away from home. Despite his brother’s warning, Neftalí spends a pleasant morning with his father and the railroad crew and thinks perhaps Rodolfo was wrong. However, when Neftalí returns from exploring the forest laden with twigs, eggshells, and pinecones, Father is embarrassed and calls Neftalí an “idiot” in front of the crew. Back at home and longing desperately for a friend, Neftalí has a mysterious encounter across a hole in his backyard fence and is gifted a toy sheep, which becomes his constant companion.

A few years later, a family trip to the beach again triggers hope that Father will be more cheerful away from home and will ease up on Neftalí. Instead, he learns Father has a secret agenda for the vacation. He forces Neftalí and Laurita to swim in the ocean every day, despite the strong currents. Father believes it will make Neftalí stronger and teach him to focus, but Neftalí begins having nightmares about drowning every night. After each morning’s swim, Neftalí rebelliously goes off on his own to read and daydream on purpose. A kind librarian lets Neftalí use his cottage as a hideout so he can read without incurring his father’s wrath. Neftalí befriends the two swans that live in the lagoon behind the cottage. He is heartbroken when the swans are killed by hunters but finds solace in Mamadre and Laurita’s support.

After three more summers spent the same way, Neftalí asks his uncle Orlando to give him a job at his newspaper office. Orlando agrees and takes on the daunting task of convincing Neftalí’s father to allow it. He also reviews an essay Neftalí wrote for a school competition about following dreams and staying determined. Orlando is so impressed with the essay that he publishes it in his newspaper, La Mañana. Neftalí learns that an advocacy group for the Indigenous Mapuche people is meeting at La Mañana‘s office to organize a protest. Shortly after, local developers trying to force the Mapuche off their land send the protesters a message by setting fire to the newspaper office, destroying Orlando’s business. Orlando tells Neftalí that they’ll never silence his pen, that he’ll continue speaking out against injustice. Neftalí vows to do the same.

Three years later, Neftalí prepares to leave home for Santiago University. He’s been made a correspondent for the student magazine, which has already published an article he wrote about the Mapuche people’s situation. When his father reads it, he burns all of Neftalí’s notebooks and forbids his son from writing. Neftalí decides to adopt a pseudonym so he can continue to write without provoking his father’s wrath or causing harm to his family. He chooses the name “Pablo Neruda.” In Santiago, Neftalí follows his calling as a poet. In time, his words touch the lives of people all over the world, inspiring them to dream.