Dream Weaver: A Children's Picture Book

by Gary Wright, Rob Sayegh (Illustrator)

Overview

Gary Wright’s hit song is reimagined as a fantastical picture book to delight dreamers of all ages.

“Strongly recommended . . . A bedtime classic in the making, Dream Weaver provides the perfect opportunity for parents to share this timeless song and will surely spark the imaginations of young and old alike.” —Midwest Book Review

“Oo-hoo dream weaver

I believe you can get me through the night

Oo-hoo dream weaver

I believe we can reach the morning light . . .”

Dream Weaver is a vibrantly illustrated picture book based on Gary Wright’s 1975 breakout single from his platinum-selling album The Dream Weaver, which has sold over two million copies. “Dream Weaver” peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and reached #1 in Canada. The song’s popularity continued long after its release, and in 1991, Wright recorded a new version for the Wayne’s World soundtrack; the soundtrack reached #1 on Billboard’s soundtrack album chart and also sold over two million copies. “Dream Weaver” continues to appear in films and TV shows to this day.

With lyrics by Gary Wright and illustrations by Rob Sayegh Jr., this magical picture book follows a little boy’s dream of a train that takes him all the way to the moon. Poised to become a bedtime classic, Dream Weaver is the perfect opportunity for parents to share this timeless song and will surely spark the imaginations of young and old alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617758577
Publisher:	Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Series:	LyricPop
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 4 Years

About the Author

GARY WRIGHT (1943–2023) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for his multiplatinum hits “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive.” Before his solo album The Dream Weaver was released in 1975, Wright played in the London music scene with the heavy rock band Spooky Tooth and also collaborated with both George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The Dream Weaver was certified platinum, with its hit single “Dream Weaver” reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His autobiography, Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison, was published in 2014.

ROB SAYEGH JR. is an author and illustrator who loves creating playful worlds with funny characters to make families giggle together. He is a professional snack taste-tester, falls in love with every dog he meets, and enjoys finding and creating new textures for his artwork. Sayegh has spent most of his life designing toys to encourage kids to constantly play, learn, and imagine new possibilities. He currently lives with his family in San Francisco, California. He illustrated Dream Weaver and Good Times Roll for Akashic's LyricPop children's picture book series.

Editorial Reviews

"The illustrations are quite colorful and add to the tale."

Journey of a Bookseller

"A small child takes a magical ride on the 'dream weaver train.' Evocative lyrics from the title song of Wright's 1975 solo album, The Dream Weaver, form the text of this...dreamy bedtime fare."
--Kirkus Reviews

Critical praise for Gary Wright and the song "Dream Weaver"

"[The] man from Spooky Tooth and Wonderwheel comes up with a thoroughly tasteful tour-de-force LP full of soft excitements."
—Billboard

"No one expected the success of The Dream Weaver when it was released, but it sailed to the top of the charts, and with good reason. Backed with only drums and a wide assortment of keyboards, Gary Wright crafted instantly recognizable tunes such as the title cut...All very revolutionary and new at the time, 'Dream Weaver' hasn't lost any of its magic over time."


—AllMusic

From the Publisher

2021-05-05
A small child takes a magical ride on the “dream weaver train.”

Evocative lyrics from the title song of Wright’s 1975 solo album, The Dream Weaver, form the text of this LyricPop offering. The first-person speaker boards the dream weaver train, asking the driver to “take away my worries of today / and leave tomorrow behind.” Believing the dream weaver will “get me through the night” to “reach the morning light,” the speaker asks the dream weaver to “fly me high through the starry skies / maybe to an astral plane” and “cross the highways of fantasy / …to forget today’s pain.” The repetitive lyrics raise questions about the speaker’s identity and source of pain as well as about the mysterious dream weaver. However, playful collages, using patterns, textures, and color, span the double-page spreads and provide needed child-friendly context. Tucked into bed with a stuffed lion and pet dachshund, the speaker proves to be a brown-skinned child with a teary eye. In the subsequent spread, kid and dachshund eagerly board the purple train driven by the dream weaver, an encouraging lion. As the fantastic train speeds through the dark night and starry skies, the boy forgets the pain (revealed to be physical rather than psychic: caused by a bicycle spill) and enjoys the ride, passing through woods, sliding down an enormous cat-shaped clock, running across the moon’s surface, and riding giant butterflies toward morning’s light. Simultaneously publishing in the series are: The Pixies song Where Is My Mind?, by Black Francis and illustrated by Alex Eben Meyer; Coldplay’s Strawberry Swing, illustrated by Mitch Miller; the Gloria Gaynor hit I Will Survive (starring a platinum-tressed green-skinned ET), by Frederick J. Perren and Dino Fekaris, and illustrated by Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor; and Paul Simon’s The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy), illustrated by Keith Henry Brown.

Dreamy bedtime fare. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews