The Dreamer: A Novel Summary
Pam Munoz Ryan

The Dreamer: A Novel Overview

The Dreamer, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrated by Peter Sís, is an illustrated children’s novel that presents a fictionalized version of Pablo Neruda’s coming of age. Told from the perspective of a third-person narrator limited to Neftalí’s perspective, the novel details foundational events in Neftalí’s childhood and adolescence in early twentieth-century Chile. From ages eight through 16, Neftalí transforms from a timid child with an abusive father to a young poet destined to make connections around the world. The Dreamer deals with themes of strength, control and power, identity and self-worth, fear, and friendship.