A Dream

by Cory Q. Tan

There's a new addition to the family- it's a baby boy! All seemed well and perfect but Mum is feeling rather on edge... Baby is healthy and normal like any other newborn, except that he's way too small! Day after day, Baby's (small) size became Mum's only obsession. Then one night, she had a strange dream....

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

38 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 20, 2019

About the author

Cory Q Tan is an Award Winning Children’s Book Author who illustrates his own books. Or rather, an illustrator who writes his own stories, for he sees himself first as an artist, then a writer. He graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art (UK), trained in the fine traditions of lithography and etching, and his works have always had a strong illustrative and narrative quality. He has a strong affinity for figurative and surrealist art, and Peter Breughel, Pablo Picasso and Japanese Anime Master Hayao Miyazaki count amongst his favourite artists.    

He first came across the idea of becoming a children’s book author when he became a father at the age of 32, but it wasn’t until 11 years later that he finally produced his first children’s picture book– ‘A Very Special Cat’. Since then, he has gone on to produce 7 more books and is enjoying art making and story telling like never before!

Cory’s Children Picture Books had won several awards over the past few years, including The Story Monster Royal Dragonfly Award (Honorable Mention), The Independent Publisher Book Awards (Silver, Children’s Illustrated E-Books) and The Next Generation Indie Book Awards (Winner, Best Illustrations). In 2020, his book ‘Theodore The Unfortunate Bear’ was shortlisted for the prestigious International Rubery Book Awards (UK)! His proudest achievement to date, however, was to attain the Gold Medal for Children’s Illustrated Picture Books (E-Book) in the 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards (USA) for his book ‘Theodore and The Bear from London’!

A former art teacher, Cory has a great passion for art history and had enjoyed teaching it to his students. Now, he infuses numerous elements of art history in his books and through his books, he hopes to promote awareness of well-known and less well-known masterpieces to his readers.

Reviews

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A children's picture book about a mother and her baby. The mother worries her baby boy is too small, and compares him to the other babies she sees. Her worrying starts to influence her dreams.

An imaginative story that includes a lesson about accepting things the way they are. Lovely illustrations in this charming book.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like it. I guess I didn't like a children's book where there was a mother who was so disatisfied with her child that she would feed him an unknown food simple because she felt he was to small. As a mother this is very disturbing. I understand the lesson trying to be learned here, I just don't like the way it was told for being a small children's book.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be careful what you wish for

You should love your baby no matter what size it is and not complain about your child. Her dreams taught her lessons. It kept my kiddos attention. My kids liked the surprise ending. It was multiple dreams inside of dreams.

I got this as a Good Reads giveaway. My opinions are my own.

[Sigy George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of this book from the author as part of LibraryThing Member Giveaway. This review is my personal view about the book and does not have any bias towards the author or his work.

Plot: The story is first person narrative of a boy telling readers about the birth of his younger brother and the events thereafter. Ever since the birth, his mother frets and loses sleep over the baby's small size. She happens to compare him with other babies his age and always seems to find him smaller than normal. This anxiety turns into obsession taking form into her dreams as well. She dreams of Giant baby, giant bunny... The events in her dreams makes her realize her folly and teaches her to be satisfied with her child. 

At times the story seems reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. There are giant babies, giant animals, and food that makes you grow big.  The story seemed a bit didactic but the author brings them well subtly. The lesson at the end to be content with what we have is important in today's highly competitive world. The mother is seen comparing her child and gets highly obsessed with size of her child. Similarly, we can see girls obsessing about their body size and body parts. None seems to be fully satisfied with the way they are born. 

The book makes for an excellent bedtime story for kids and also has the lesson for them to accept themselves as they are. The illustration add charm to the text and speak for themselves. They are highly colorful and full of life. I would recommend this book for those who like quality illustrations and to parents with small kids. Its a good reminder to learn to accept ourselves and not be fixated or preoccupied with size. A good read.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mother worried about her baby's small size becomes more and more obsessed until she tries something drastic. But is a normal size baby or big baby really better?

This tales has shades of Alice in Wonderland and Inception in it. I can totally see an Asian mother obsessing over the size of her child. (I have known students here in Asia who have done hormone growth therapy wanting to be taller.) In the end there's a nice little lesson about being content with the way things are. The illustration style reminds me of Japanese manga or anime; it is cute and charming. Recommended to those who like cute illustrations, and fantastical dream stories, or who might need to be reminded there's nothing wrong with being small.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[LK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this younger children's book. It has a very captivating storyline, almost Japanese Ghibli like.....strange but entertaining.
The underlying message being conveyed I think is on the mark, which is basically be happy with what you have.
I also liked that the narrative in the story was from the big brothers point of view rather than the main character who is the mother, made it all the more interesting.
The illustrations are quite fascinating too.

[Allison Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. Cory Q. Tan's books always teach some kind of a lesson. This particular story is about a mother who wishes her son was normal in size. Other children his age are normal in size, but Baby is smaller than the rest. She has a dream that Baby grows big and the events that transpire are catastrophic for the town. This book teaches that even though we wish for things to be a certain way, sometimes everything in life is perfect the way it is.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creative and imaginative story, absolutely charming! Would not only be a great bedtime story for kids, but is also a story adults who are fans of anime, fantasy, Alice in wonderland, Ghibli etc… The narrative style is a welcome different POV adding to the story. It’s a cute short story that grabs the readers attention from the get go. Hidden lessons for us to take away woven through the story. A quick read worth every minute. A gorgeous illustrative style. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is due to a few grammatical errors.

**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest unbiased review**

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, beautifully illustrated by the author, is all about a mother who is terribly worried that her new baby is too small... until she has a very vivid, very weird dream! It's a great book, and I don't think it should be limited to just children - I enjoyed it as an adult, and so did my friend who I showed it to. She had just had a baby who was premature, and it made her laugh a lot to read this, so thank you to the author for cheering up a mother with a genuinely small baby! I'll certainly be watching out for other books by this author in the future.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hesitantly giving four stars because I did actually enjoy the story quite a bit - I found it entertaining, and definitely would have as a kid, as well. The hesitation comes in because I did notice a few errors... I'd say they were typos, but they were actually incorrect verb tenses. Because of these errors, I would really hesitate to give this book to a child of my own, but I'd probably read the book to them, verbally fixing the errors. And I personally have a Kindle version of the book, so I think that it could probably be fixed with an update, as well.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Jocelyn Soriano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! I haven’t read it to my nephews yet, but I’m sure they would enjoy it as much as I have. This book has everything I wanted to have in a children’s book. It has beautiful illustrations that would attract the attention of kids. It has an engaging story that would keep them guessing till the very end. It also has a very valuable lesson that both adults and kids could learn from. I definitely recommend this book to parents and children alike.

[Kelly Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does Size Matter?

Mama is worried that her baby is too small. So worried that she feeds him special food, but then she wakes to a giant baby? What can she do? Perhaps there are lessons to be learned about worrying too much.

This is a short, cute storybook that grabs the readers attention and never lets go. The illustrations are adorable and enhancesthe text.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely writing and illustrations. As a mom, I too worry about my children. Sometimes I worry for no good reason- anxiety. As my children grew I found it easier and easier to relax and not let worry take over my thoughts. The mum in this story is able to let go of her worry after a dream. Then she is able to spend her time enjoying her baby exactly as he is. A great lesson.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun read for an elementary school child. The lesson learned is to not be to obsessed with anything, and also not to be smug when you think you fixed the thing you are obsessed with fixing. Cute story and I really enjoyed it.

This book was a gift from the author, the opinions given are mine.

[gypsydreams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mum is worried that her baby is so small and this invades her very dreams including an alice in wonderland like cream that makes giant babies-but this baby is just right -I was given a copy of this book for an open and honest review namaste

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another children's book with a lesson from Cory Tan. This one is about being satisfied with what you have and not comparing your own situation to what others have. A great thing to learn early in life!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming short book about accepting what you have and not trying to match what others have. A meaningful message for us all.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Toya Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book!!!

Even though it was just a dream this quote is true: Be careful for what you wish for; you just might get it.!!!

[Gita Sturtevant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for kid

Good book for 10 yrs up buy for children even not yours getting for .my own grandchildren t.hank you Amazon

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of A Dream

This is a wonderful children’s book. I look forward to reading more books by this author. I won this book through a giveaway on Goodreads website.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

My 7 year old granddaughter just loved this story. I have to put it on my to read list for her. Try it.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. I read it to my twin boys. The pictures was so cute. The book is about a mom's dream about her new baby. I won a kindle book of this book for a goodreads giveaway.

[Melissa T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on good reads first reads, Thank You!
This is a fun story about a mother's dream about her baby being the wrong size. The artwork in this book is fantastic. A great read.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream

Thought this was such a beautiful illustrated story about a mother trying to come to terms with having a small child. I liked how this was through the sisters point of view.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another First Reads win, this story is sweet and funny with beautiful illustrations.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was okay. I do not know how much it would interest young children. However, the style of and the illustrations themselves are gorgeous.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, this book is so funny and the illustrations amazing!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a wonderful story to read to your kids! He wrote the story so well and the pictures that he drew are so good to look at and to show the kids! You need to read this book to your kids!

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this children’s book through a Goodreads.com giveaway. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it I much as I hoped I would, as I kept getting distracted by the typesetting. Some words were all caps and others were italicized in places that just didn’t make sense within the story - throughout the entire book. That said, I did enjoy the illustrations and understand that the author was trying to string together a story through the artwork. I thought the premise of the story was rather funny to the point of ridiculous, but relatable to most first time mothers and their constant worrying about one thing or another. Or maybe that was just me. I also think the story would need to be targeted to a child around 4 years or 5 years of age in order for them to understand and find the humor in a giant baby. Overall, I would give this a 2.5 star rating.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

~Disclaimer: I received a kindle copy for free.~

I'm not really sold on this book. I don't think it is a book I'd want to read to my nieces.
I think the message is a bit jumbled. I know the idea is that you should accept people for what they are. However, if the baby had just gotten a normal amount of bigger I think the mother would have been content with that....and that kind of doesn't jive with that message.

The art is lovely. The story is just a bit...odd.