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Dreams for a Daughter

Illustrated by Brian Pinkney

About The Book

This stunning and empowering picture book from a New York Times bestselling author and an acclaimed illustrator celebrates a Black mother’s hopes and dreams for her daughter.

As I cradle you, look in your eyes,
your gaze says softly,
I want to know everything.
I promise to show you all that I can.


This love letter from mother to daughter inspires young girls to follow their dreams, no matter what challenges life may bring. Young readers will be reminded that love and support from home will follow them as they venture out into the world.

About The Author

Photograph © Carole Boston Weatherford

Carole Boston Weatherford has written many award-winning books for children, including Kin, illustrated by her son Jeffery and a Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient; Box, which won a Newbery Honor; Unspeakable, which won the Coretta Scott King Award, a Caldecott Honor, and was a finalist for the National Book Award; Respect: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award; ALA Notable Children’s Book You Can Fly; and Caldecott Honor winners Freedom in Congo Square; Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Carole lives in North Carolina. Visit her at CBWeatherford.com.

About The Illustrator

Photograph © Christine Simmons

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous acclaimed books for children, including Martin Rising; In Your Hands; On the Ball; The Faithful Friend; Duke Ellington; and In the Time of the Drums. His many awards include two Caldecott Honors, a Coretta Scott King Illustration Award, four Coretta Scott King Illustration Honors, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Brian lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and frequent collaborator, Andrea Davis Pinkney. Visit him at BrianPinkney.net.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (March 9, 2021)
  • Length: 32 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781534451995
  • Ages: 4 - 8

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Raves and Reviews

"Brought to life by Pinkney’s now-signature brushy, colorful illustrations with bold ink lines, this lyrical expression of hope opens with a mother holding her baby while the two gaze into each other’s eyes. . . A beautifully illustrated, uplifting tribute to Black girls and to the mothers who love them boundlessly."

– Kirkus Reviews

Awards and Honors

  • Kansas NEA Reading Circle List PrimaryTitle
  • Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year Selection Title

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Carole Boston Weatherford

More books from this illustrator: Brian Pinkney