Tales from Dreamland

by Ed Valfre (Created by)

Overview

LA photographer Ed Valfre imagines stories from snapshots of ordinary life, inviting readers to discover the magical in the everyday.

A cup of coffee with a swirl of cream. Clouds reflected on a tabletop. A shopping cart abandoned on the sidewalk. Photographer Ed Valfre captures these little moments of everyday life in his pictures and subsequently imagines the extraordinary universes, striking feelings, and unexpected narratives each moment might contain. By turns surreal, humorous, and profound, Valfre reveals the magic to be discovered in the everyday with this collection of photographs and accompanying short stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592703777
Publisher:	Unruly/Enchanted Lion
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Edition description:	Illustrated
Pages:	92
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Ed Valfre is a photographer and musician, and the author of two children’s books (Backseat Buckaroo and Vacationers from Outer Space). He has exhibited his photographs in Los Angeles, Bologna, and Rome. He currently resides in Los Angeles, or possibly in an alternate dimension.

What People are Saying About This

Magician Teller (Penn & Teller)

“A whole new kind of bookmaking. Stunning images wrapped in miniature, intensely personal, haunting stories. A delight.”

TV producer Michael Feldman

“Through the lens of Ed Valfre’s mind, the everyday becomes the ethereal. His images spark the imagination and take us to a place just beyond reach. Or perhaps the dream already exists and Valfre shows us the proof.”

Musician

"Ed Valfre is an amazing photographer... Ed Valfre is also a wonderful human being with a gigantic heart. I am fairly sure you can see that by looking at his photos. So I believe we are done here."

Editorial Reviews

"Acts to spark readers’ imaginations… The spark asks readers to look again, to think again about the immediate world around them, and imagine potential stories that explain what we see and why and how it came to be or what it’s trying to tell us. Matching story to photograph—black and white, sepia-toned, full color (often with shocks of gold)—the vignettes serve as acts of hope for those who need a booster shot... Tales from Dreamland would also serve as a great series of writing prompts with examples for creative writing classes and for individuals who want to kick-start their imaginations. It only takes a spark to reach the possibilities of dreamland."

Tom Bowden

"Ed Valfre’s artful collection Tales from Dreamland signposts the 'ordinary magic of the everyday' via whimsical flash fiction and eye-catching photographs... The photographs achieve unusual visual effects... Shadows and reflections prove crucial. There is a sharp awareness of the sky above and the ground below... Personal, heartfelt entries appear, too... Tales from Dreamland insists that there is a 'grace to the ordinary.'"

Foreword Reviews

"Think of it as street photography aiding and abetting a range of flash fiction stories...The inspiration was to awaken wonder in and openness to the everyday."

A Fuse #8 Production (A School Library Journal blog) - Betsy Bird

Sometimes the marriage between text and photography can feel like a shot-gun wedding, forced, or at the very least apologetic, as if neither has the will or strength to stand alone. It’s a tricky undertaking. But in the right hands and with the right touch, it can transcend our wildest hopes. In Tales From Dreamland, Valfre makes magic on every page. A shadow finds its boy. A kiss levitates a man. A forgotten skirt on a clothesline signals loss. The best way I can describe what is happening here is that the author offers the text to the image and the image to the text as gifts to each other. It’s an act of extraordinary insight and generosity. Luckily for us, we are invited to witness meaning and geometry continually rediscover each other. And everybody wins. Don’t miss out on this book. It is an absolute treat.

Lee Rossi

"A Los Angeles photographer pairs his images with brief lines of text, exploring the extraordinary amid the seemingly ordinary. Capturing the beauty of everyday life in his photography, which sometimes borders on the surreal, Valfre presents evocative vignettes that riff on each image. Most of the two-page spreads feature a single black-and-white or color photograph accompanied by a short paragraph— occasionally just a sentence or two... This unusual volume will please browsers and is also a good source of creative prompts for language arts and fine art classes. A thoughtful, imaginative work to inspire dreamers and observers."

Kirkus Reviews

"Ed Valfre is an amazing photographer... Ed Valfre is also a wonderful human being with a gigantic heart. I am fairly sure you can see that by looking at his photos. So I believe we are done here."—Musician, actor, and painter John Lurie (The Lounge Lizards)

“A whole new kind of bookmaking. Stunning images wrapped in miniature, intensely personal, haunting stories. A delight.”—Magician Teller (Penn & Teller)

“Through the lens of Ed Valfre’s mind, the everyday becomes the ethereal. His images spark the imagination and take us to a place just beyond reach. Or perhaps the dream already exists and Valfre shows us the proof.”—TV producer Michael Feldman

"A Los Angeles photographer pairs his images with brief lines of text, exploring the extraordinary amid the seemingly ordinary. Capturing the beauty of everyday life in his photography, which sometimes borders on the surreal, Valfre presents evocative vignettes that riff on each image. Most of the two-page spreads feature a single black-and-white or color photograph accompanied by a short paragraph— occasionally just a sentence or two... This unusual volume will please browsers and is also a good source of creative prompts for language arts and fine art classes. A thoughtful, imaginative work to inspire dreamers and observers."—Kirkus Reviews

"Think of it as street photography aiding and abetting a range of flash fiction stories...The inspiration was to awaken wonder in and openness to the everyday."—Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production (A School Library Journal blog)

"Ed Valfre’s artful collection Tales from Dreamland signposts the 'ordinary magic of the everyday' via whimsical flash fiction and eye-catching photographs... The photographs achieve unusual visual effects... Shadows and reflections prove crucial. There is a sharp awareness of the sky above and the ground below... Personal, heartfelt entries appear, too... Tales from Dreamland insists that there is a 'grace to the ordinary.'"—Foreword Reviews

“Sometimes the marriage between text and photography can feel like a shot-gun wedding, forced, or at the very least apologetic, as if neither has the will or strength to stand alone. It’s a tricky undertaking. But in the right hands and with the right touch, it can transcend our wildest hopes. In Tales From Dreamland, Valfre makes magic on every page. A shadow finds its boy. A kiss levitates a man. A forgotten skirt on a clothesline signals loss. The best way I can describe what is happening here is that the author offers the text to the image and the image to the text as gifts to each other. It’s an act of extraordinary insight and generosity. Luckily for us, we are invited to witness meaning and geometry continually rediscover each other. And everybody wins. Don’t miss out on this book. It is an absolute treat.”—Lee Rossi

"Acts to spark readers’ imaginations… The spark asks readers to look again, to think again about the immediate world around them, and imagine potential stories that explain what we see and why and how it came to be or what it’s trying to tell us. Matching story to photograph—black and white, sepia-toned, full color (often with shocks of gold)—the vignettes serve as acts of hope for those who need a booster shot... Tales from Dreamland would also serve as a great series of writing prompts with examples for creative writing classes and for individuals who want to kick-start their imaginations. It only takes a spark to reach the possibilities of dreamland."—Tom Bowden, for The Book Beat (Oak Park, MI)

From the Publisher

2024-12-14
A Los Angeles photographer pairs his images with brief lines of text, exploring the extraordinary amid the seemingly ordinary.

Capturing the beauty of everyday life in his photography, which sometimes borders on the surreal, Valfre presents evocative vignettes that riff on each image. Most of the two-page spreads feature a single black-and-white or color photograph accompanied by a short paragraph— occasionally just a sentence or two. “LUNCH in the CLOUDS,” which describes a worker on his lunch break who’s jolted out of his routine by a moment of beauty, appears beside a photo in which a glass-topped table reflects puffy white clouds and blue sky, a striking contrast to the mundanity of the wicker furniture, concrete paving stones, and unremarkable lunch of a “ham sandwich, banana, and cup of coffee.” Some entries seem to be autobiographical: In “The LOST FATHERS,” a striking black-and-white photo shot from below—of silhouetted people climbing the mostly leafless branches of a tree, standing out against a stark, empty sky—appears beside a first-person description of a dream about conversing with a deceased father. Many of the photographs play with light, shadow, and reflection: Sunlight sparkles on a pool as a brown-skinned boy floats on his back, and a full moon is reflected in a small puddle in a cracked sidewalk. This unusual volume will please browsers and is also a good source of creative prompts for language arts and fine art classes.

A thoughtful, imaginative work to inspire dreamers and observers.(Fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews