When You Dream Big!

Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Orchard Books

978-1-339-00035-0

40 pp.

Ages 4–8

March 2026 

 

All of us will remember being asked what we'd like to be when we grow up. It's a rite of passage to be asked, to answer with something practical or unlikely, and then to change our minds. Knowing what you want to be when you grow older is a challenge. Ah, but dreaming big may be the start of a grand future. 

From When You Dream Big! written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

When their teacher, Miss Rayna, plans a Dream Big Week, during which her students would share their dream jobs by writing them on colourful wings, Charley is stumped. Her classmates are enthusiastic about their ideas of going to mars, becoming an actor, or building a bridge across the ocean. They want to be engineers, astronauts, and artists. But Charley has no idea.  

From When You Dream Big! written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

As she ponders and stresses about dreaming big, Charley becomes immobilized with anxiety. It's only when she focuses on her feet—"Ten toes — all pointing in the right direction" (pg. 20)—that she feels grounded enough to go on. The next morning, she awakens inspired by her dreams. She may not know what she wants to do when she grows up, but she know who she wants to be.

 

When You Dream Big! is less about doing than it is about being. Having dreams about your future job is normal, whether you're seven or twenty-seven. The dream can guide you in your education and your interests, and it can propel you to work hard. But dreaming about the future can be as much about who you will be as a person as what job you will have. Will you be adventurous? Will you be more assertive? Will you be responsible and caring? Peter H. Reynolds gives us a character who feels anxiety about the big dreams she's supposed to have and shows us that she's always had the right stuff to dream big, even if it is different than the dreams of her classmates. Even better, Peter H. Reynolds's Charley helps her classmates to dream big about who they can be, not just what they will do. 

From When You Dream Big! written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

When I read Peter H. Reynolds's books, I always feel like someone has taken my hand. It's the hand of understanding, of compassion, and of guidance. He does this with his uplifting words and his heartfelt art. His text resonates with the voice of children who worry about their abilities or ideas, who compare themselves to others, and who feel joy when supported. Those same feelings come through in Peter H. Reynolds's pen and watercolour illustrations. Beyond the classroom posters of positive messages, he uses colour tellingly. His golds and purples are as reassuring as his words, and he spreads joy and reveals distraction and worry with colour and an effective use of line. His characters are fabulously diverse, and convincing in themselves. (Colby, a boy in a "Be You" shirt wants to make people smile more, while Josh wants to sleep a lot.) 

 

There is no one way to dream big, and Charley and her classmates and Miss Rayna all learn that this is true. With this epiphany comes relief, encouragement, and even creativity. So, when you dream big, good stuff can happen, even if it's not the dream coming true. (But maybe it will.)