Official Review: How Dreams Come True by Cecil W. Jentges

Juliana_Isabella · Post by **Juliana_Isabella** » 14 Jul 2020, 21:16

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "How Dreams Come True" by Cecil W. Jentges.]

3 out of 4 stars

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How Dreams Come True by Cecil W. Jentges is a children’s picture book about a family’s need to have faith in their dreams. The story begins with the father as he is searching for his life partner. He hears a voice saying to hold on and have faith in love and his dreams, and eventually he finds the woman he is looking for. Throughout the book, this message is repeated, and more members of the family learn to persevere towards a better tomorrow.

I really enjoyed the message of this book. The author does a good job showing that achieving our life goals requires both faith and action, as the characters are shown keeping up their hope while taking action to reach those goals. I also enjoyed how the message was shown being passed from one person to another. The father receives it first and passes it to the mother during a difficult time. Then she passes it to her son when they both need hope for the future.

My biggest criticism of this book is that it feels as though it was written for the author’s son and only for him. The characters are called “Daddy” and “Mommy” by the narrator, and the reader is addressed as “you” and shown to be the baby boy that the father and mother have together. It feels like a bedtime story that a father told his son, and I think this could make it difficult for other children to see themselves in the kid’s place.

Overall, I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The message is strong, the illustrations are beautiful, and I only found one mistake in the book. However, I’m not sure that kids will be able to relate to the characters in the book since it’s so obvious that the book was created for the author’s son.

I would recommend this book to parents of children ages three to seven. I think this book would be especially good for kids who share similarities with the boy in the story, including having a parent who is a healthcare worker.

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How Dreams Come True
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Post by **Christabel Uzoamaka** » 23 Jul 2020, 11:44

Hmmm, this seems like a complicated writing style; I do not think that I will enjoy reading this book because of it. However, I feel it is necessary to have faith in whatever outcome you’re hoping for in life, and this book embodies that belief, which is a pleasure for me to see.

I enjoyed this review, thank you.

Dominik_G · Post by **Dominik_G** » 23 Jul 2020, 13:16

I appreciate that How Dreams Come True emphasizes that in order to achieve our goals we need to have faith AND we need to take action too. I think this is an important message. Thank you for your review!

Elvis Best · Post by **Elvis Best** » 23 Jul 2020, 15:08

The title of this book attracted me to read this review. Thank you for such an insightful review. Good job!

Chiagbanwe · Post by **Chiagbanwe** » 23 Jul 2020, 18:06

I like the fact that it has the message of hope for its characters. However, as you said, kids might find it difficult to relate to the place of the boy in the story.
Geat review.

Star_and_Buck · Post by **Star_and_Buck** » 23 Jul 2020, 20:25

Sounds a pretty good book for children. However it will teach children how to have faith in themselves.

Priyanka2304 · Post by **Priyanka2304** » 23 Jul 2020, 23:42

It feels good to know that these values are inculcated in a child from an early stage through these wonderful stories. Thanks for the amazing review.

Rodel Barnachea · Post by **Rodel Barnachea** » 24 Jul 2020, 01:01

I agree that the message is beautiful. Hopefully, that author tries to revise this amazing picture book to cater to other children and not just young boys.

Valkyrie9 · Post by **Valkyrie9** » 24 Jul 2020, 01:49

This book highlights such an important lesson for young children: dreams are important and if we want them to come true we have to have faith and never stop believing in them. A pity the writing style seemed so specific as to make the reader feel excluded though. Thanks for the honest review.

elsiebeth · Post by **elsiebeth** » 24 Jul 2020, 07:11

As an adult, I still enjoy reading children's books. I grew up being read to, as did my children. My kids are grown, but still, we have great fun sharing and discussing our books.
It is encouraging to discuss children's books with other adults. I love the imagination and colorful art. It is much easier to see the author's writing style in a short simple story.
Thank you for doing this great review. It is very helpful. It is encouraging that other adults read children's literature. Sometimes I feel like the Lone Ranger. It is easy to feel foolish as you read Good Night Moon to your dogs.

Joseph_ngaruiya · Post by **Joseph_ngaruiya** » 24 Jul 2020, 13:57

I like the book cover and the storyline. I also enjoyed reading your review.

Patrick Maina1 · Post by **Patrick Maina1** » 28 Jul 2020, 07:58

Faith and action.That is precisely what we need for our dreams to come true.I found the review very insightful.

Teele · Post by **Teele** » 29 Jul 2020, 17:58

The author does a good job showing that achieving our life goals requires both faith and action

So true. Thanks for a good review.

Ivana Tomaš · Post by **Ivana Tomaš** » 30 Jul 2020, 05:43

I like the idea and the basic message that this book carries. I think it’s important for kids today to believe they can make their dreams come true!
Thank you for a great review!