Sueños de la isla (past-tense version)

BASIC INFO	LANGUAGE LEVEL	COMPREHENSION-AIDING FEATURES
Book Title Sueños de la isla (past-tense version) Dreams from/of the island Author(s): JJ Hill, Marissa Rubin, Roberta Price Illustrator Cover art by Daria Corbett Other Contributors Book design by Sarah Koz Genre Realistic Fiction Publisher: JMR Press Publication date: 2013	Level Two Total Word Count Unknown	Illustrations NO Glossary YES Guiding Questions NO Context NO Other

IDENTITIES PRESENT IN THE TEXT		SYNOPSIS
Races, Ethnicities, and Nationalities Races: Not specified in the text. Nationalities: Haitian; Dominican; U.S. American Languages spoken Spanish Sex and Genders Female Male Ages Teenager: 13-18 Young Adult: 18-35 Mid-life Adult: 35-65 Social classes Poor Working class Middle Class	Sexual Orientation Heterosexual (Dis)Abilities and Neurotypes Other: None mentioned in the text. Religions, Syncretism, and Spirituality Other: None mentioned in the text. Relationship and Family Structures Heteroparental Body Descriptions Marcos: “Era alto, moreno, y tenia ojos de color cafe” / He was tall and brown-haired with brown eyes (p. 2). Omar: “También era alto, moreno y tenia ojos de color cafe” / He was also tall and brown-haired with brown eyes (p. 3). Carlota: “Pero, de repente, Omar vio a una muchacha muy linda de pelo largo y ojos muy bonitos” / All of a sudden, Omar saw a very beautiful girl with long hair and beautiful eyes (p. 5). Rodrigo: “Bueno, el hombre era bastante bajo, moreno y gordito” / So, the man was short, dark, and a little fat (p. 9).	From the publisher’s website The Gómez brothers love playing street baseball with their friends in the Dominican Republic. Will their favorite pastime lead them to success elsewhere? Come with Omar and Marcos in their adventures as they follow their dreams.

THIS BOOK IN OTHER LANGUAGES
See our review of the French version, which is significantly different.

ILLUSTRATIONS	STORY	SOCIAL JUSTICE
To what extent do the illustrations present positive and thoughtful representations of identities? The cover shows the face in profile of a boy with dark brown skin, brown eyes, and black curly hair; behind him, there is a map of the island and three indistinct figures playing baseball. The book includes a map of the island where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located, with many cities labeled. There are no other illustrations.	We understand identities are complex and no single story represents the spectrum of identity-based experiences. Also, a text may address a stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization without relying on it. *Does any stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization affect any positive and thoughtful representations of identities in the text?* The text (including illustrations) upholds gender stereotypes. Certain people or groups are left out or given roles that don’t enable them to be heard.	This section is for teachers who are working towards sourcing more texts within the four domains of anti-bias education. We are excited about reading all books and we understand that not all books are written for this specific purpose. *Does this text work toward goals within any of the* four domains of anti-bias education as defined by Learning for Justice? Diversity: Foster intergroup understanding. Omar, who is from the Dominican Republic, wants to help Maurice, who has come to the Dominican Republic from Haiti, and involves other boys at the camp.

LLLAB’s REVIEW
Sueños de la isla is set in the Dominican Republic. It focuses on the stories of teenaged boys and their athletic dreams. One character has left Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake left him orphaned and homeless. His treatment by Dominicans ranges from rejection to friendship and the help he needs to start again. The teenaged boy characters are interesting and nuanced, but the one teenaged female character is limited to her role as a love interest. Sueños de la isla is a mirror image of the French title Rêves de l’île by the same authors. The French book tells two stories, one set in Haiti and the second set in the Dominican Republic. The Spanish version tells only the Dominican story; Maurice, the Haitian character, does appear in the Dominican half of the book as a character who is alone, unhoused, and hungry (p. 28). Because the Spanish-language novel has no backstory on him, Maurice could be perceived as a stereotype of “a poor Haitian boy needing help.” Maurice explains that his Haitian family died in an earthquake in January of 2010. This is a reference to a true event that affected Haiti, with repercussions that are still felt today. Although the authors of Sueños de la isla do not explicitly discuss the complicated and at times discriminatory relationship between Haitians and Dominicans, they hint at it, which gives an opening for teachers who wish to explore this topic. Rodrigo, the owner of the Dominican baseball camp, says, “Aquí no se permiten los haitianos” / Here in my camp, we don’t allow Haitians (p. 33). Rodrigo sees Maurice as “Haitian” even though Maurice says, “Mi mamá era de Haiti, pero mi papa era dominicano” / My mom was from Haiti but my dad was Dominican (p. 31) and “Quiero encontrar a mi familia dominicana” / I want to find my Dominican family (p. 31). This short book gives an example of a character who goes out of his way to fight against injustice. Omar is a teen who does what he can to help Maurice, the Haitian boy he has just met. Omar asks for permission to bring Maurice into the baseball recruitment camp, and when the adults say no, Omar sneaks Maurice in. Omar’s leadership convinces the other boys to hide Maurice; they offer him food and a place to live, and Omar begins to teach Maurice how to play baseball. In a book in which characters dream of becoming professional athletes, leaving the island to find success in the United States is a common dream. However, the authors avoid the trope of presenting the U.S. as “a magical land where all dreams come true” by having a variety of happy outcomes for the characters. Maurice leaves the island in search of financial and professional success as a baseball player in the U.S., while Omar finds happiness as he chooses to stay on the island and build a family there. The character who leaves is of Haitian origin. The authors depict characters who are poor (Maurice), working class (Marcos and Omar), and middle class (Rodrigo, who owns a baseball training camp). It is worth noting the depiction of Maurice’s family’s poverty and his attitude towards it. Maurice describes his life before the earthquake and remarks, “No tenemos mucho, pero somos felices” / We don’t have a lot but we are happy (p. 37). In the context of this story, Maurice describing his own family as poor but happy can be understood, especially when contrasted with the utter devastation–both financial and emotional–that followed the earthquake. However, the teacher will need to be careful to avoid the stereotype of Haitians as “poor but happy.” The attitudes of many teenaged characters in the book reflect a casual cruelty. When Marcos throws a ball and it hits the other boy in the head, the injured boy “empezó a llorar como un bebé” / started crying like a baby (p. 4) and all the other boys begin to laugh at him despite clear evidence that the boy is hurt–a big bruise appears on his head and he abandons the game to go home. When Omar falls during the race, the crowd watching the race has the same reaction: “Todos los muchachos en el barrio empezaron a reírse cuando Omar tropezó y se cayó” / All the boys in the neighborhood started to laugh when Omar tripped and fell (p. 5). These scenes in which the misfortune of one person becomes entertainment for others, without apparent challenge from the text, may serve to normalize a lack of care and empathy. The main characters are adolescent boys. When the boys meet a girl their own age, the text portrays her only through the eyes of the boys. For example, Carlota seems to exist only to be Omar’s girlfriend. He sees her for the first time during a race with another boy from the neighborhood. Omar gets distracted by Carlota because she is pretty, and he falls down: “Omar tropezó y se cayó cuando vio a la muchacha linda” / Omar tripped and fell when he saw the pretty girl (p. 5). After the fall, Omar manages to ask Carlota her name and to win his race. The text doesn’t tell much about Carlota besides the fact that she is pretty, and that this is the reason Omar likes her. Carlota, one of the few female characters in the book, thus serves as a foil and not as a fully developed character. Note to authors: If you are the author of this book and you have feedback, please contact us here. If anything we have written is inaccurate, misleading, confusing, poorly worded, or lacking important context, we would be happy to update our review. Note to readers: Comprehension-based novels contain language that varies in how natural it feels to users of the language. Sometimes the author has intentionally simplified the language as a stepping stone toward proficiency, or complexified the language for a variety of reasons. Other times, variations result from the language proficiency levels, linguistic repertoires, (sub)cultural experiences, geolects, or personal preferences of authors. LLLAB typically does not comment on the linguistic choices of authors (e.g., vocabulary and grammar) since variations occur naturally within groups of language producers. Teachers may wish to supplement novels with additional linguistic material to increase student acquisition of the various geolects associated with the settings of stories. See related discussion of linguistic imperialism at the LLLAB glossary. (This note is included in every LLLAB review published on or after May 2026)

LLLAB’s REVIEW

Sueños de la isla is set in the Dominican Republic. It focuses on the stories of teenaged boys and their athletic dreams. One character has left Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake left him orphaned and homeless. His treatment by Dominicans ranges from rejection to friendship and the help he needs to start again. The teenaged boy characters are interesting and nuanced, but the one teenaged female character is limited to her role as a love interest.

Sueños de la isla is a mirror image of the French title Rêves de l’île by the same authors. The French book tells two stories, one set in Haiti and the second set in the Dominican Republic. The Spanish version tells only the Dominican story; Maurice, the Haitian character, does appear in the Dominican half of the book as a character who is alone, unhoused, and hungry (p. 28). Because the Spanish-language novel has no backstory on him, Maurice could be perceived as a stereotype of “a poor Haitian boy needing help.” Maurice explains that his Haitian family died in an earthquake in January of 2010. This is a reference to a true event that affected Haiti, with repercussions that are still felt today.

Although the authors of Sueños de la isla do not explicitly discuss the complicated and at times discriminatory relationship between Haitians and Dominicans, they hint at it, which gives an opening for teachers who wish to explore this topic. Rodrigo, the owner of the Dominican baseball camp, says, “Aquí no se permiten los haitianos” / Here in my camp, we don’t allow Haitians (p. 33). Rodrigo sees Maurice as “Haitian” even though Maurice says, “Mi mamá era de Haiti, pero mi papa era dominicano” / My mom was from Haiti but my dad was Dominican (p. 31) and “Quiero encontrar a mi familia dominicana” / I want to find my Dominican family (p. 31).

This short book gives an example of a character who goes out of his way to fight against injustice. Omar is a teen who does what he can to help Maurice, the Haitian boy he has just met. Omar asks for permission to bring Maurice into the baseball recruitment camp, and when the adults say no, Omar sneaks Maurice in. Omar’s leadership convinces the other boys to hide Maurice; they offer him food and a place to live, and Omar begins to teach Maurice how to play baseball.

In a book in which characters dream of becoming professional athletes, leaving the island to find success in the United States is a common dream. However, the authors avoid the trope of presenting the U.S. as “a magical land where all dreams come true” by having a variety of happy outcomes for the characters. Maurice leaves the island in search of financial and professional success as a baseball player in the U.S., while Omar finds happiness as he chooses to stay on the island and build a family there. The character who leaves is of Haitian origin.

The authors depict characters who are poor (Maurice), working class (Marcos and Omar), and middle class (Rodrigo, who owns a baseball training camp). It is worth noting the depiction of Maurice’s family’s poverty and his attitude towards it. Maurice describes his life before the earthquake and remarks, “No tenemos mucho, pero somos felices” / We don’t have a lot but we are happy (p. 37). In the context of this story, Maurice describing his own family as poor but happy can be understood, especially when contrasted with the utter devastation–both financial and emotional–that followed the earthquake. However, the teacher will need to be careful to avoid the stereotype of Haitians as “poor but happy.”

The attitudes of many teenaged characters in the book reflect a casual cruelty. When Marcos throws a ball and it hits the other boy in the head, the injured boy “empezó a llorar como un bebé” / started crying like a baby (p. 4) and all the other boys begin to laugh at him despite clear evidence that the boy is hurt–a big bruise appears on his head and he abandons the game to go home. When Omar falls during the race, the crowd watching the race has the same reaction: “Todos los muchachos en el barrio empezaron a reírse cuando Omar tropezó y se cayó” / All the boys in the neighborhood started to laugh when Omar tripped and fell (p. 5). These scenes in which the misfortune of one person becomes entertainment for others, without apparent challenge from the text, may serve to normalize a lack of care and empathy.

The main characters are adolescent boys. When the boys meet a girl their own age, the text portrays her only through the eyes of the boys. For example, Carlota seems to exist only to be Omar’s girlfriend. He sees her for the first time during a race with another boy from the neighborhood. Omar gets distracted by Carlota because she is pretty, and he falls down: “Omar tropezó y se cayó cuando vio a la muchacha linda” / Omar tripped and fell when he saw the pretty girl (p. 5). After the fall, Omar manages to ask Carlota her name and to win his race. The text doesn’t tell much about Carlota besides the fact that she is pretty, and that this is the reason Omar likes her. Carlota, one of the few female characters in the book, thus serves as a foil and not as a fully developed character.

Note to authors:
If you are the author of this book and you have feedback, please contact us here. If anything we have written is inaccurate, misleading, confusing, poorly worded, or lacking important context, we would be happy to update our review.

Note to readers:
Comprehension-based novels contain language that varies in how natural it feels to users of the language. Sometimes the author has intentionally simplified the language as a stepping stone toward proficiency, or complexified the language for a variety of reasons. Other times, variations result from the language proficiency levels, linguistic repertoires, (sub)cultural experiences, geolects, or personal preferences of authors. LLLAB typically does not comment on the linguistic choices of authors (e.g., vocabulary and grammar) since variations occur naturally within groups of language producers. Teachers may wish to supplement novels with additional linguistic material to increase student acquisition of the various geolects associated with the settings of stories. See related discussion of linguistic imperialism at the LLLAB glossary. (This note is included in every LLLAB review published on or after May 2026)

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