Dreams can be filled with vibrant adventure and fraught with fear. But often they dissipate when we wake, without leaving a trace.

In his picture book João by a Thread, renowned author/illustrator Roger Mello captures the world of nightmares and dreams and commits it to memory in written and illustrated form. The book opens with a young boy, the eponymous João of the title, pulling up his blanket before he goes to sleep. Only this is no ordinary blanket; it is “as big as the nighttime,” and fears and fantasies are woven into its design. The blanket’s composition changes in every illustration. In one, the reader will pick out delicate flowers and sea creatures; in another a small fishing boat and rolling waves.

João, who is depicted throughout as a long, lean, featureless figure, moves throughout the narrative. He makes earthquakes under the covers with his feet; he flutters the vast blanket behind him like a kite. On one page, João is a giant; on the next he is awash with fear, before seeming to disappear into a bottomless black hole framed by untidy, unravelling threads. Fortunately, João wakes and finds a solution to his predicament. He weaves a blanket of words with the thread that remains and, in so doing, draws together the strands of his nighttime adventures, thoughts and questions.

Mello’s text has a lyrical, dreamlike feel to it:

“A goodnight kiss on the forehead never stops kissing. Where’s it hiding, the night that kisses João? In the strands of a lullaby?”

The words are paired with an unusual, dramatic color scheme of just three colors: red, black and white. The combination makes for a captivating picture book that invites readers of all ages to enter the mysterious, rich world of dreams.

João by a Thread
Written and illustrated by Roger Mello
Translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn
Published by Elsewhere Editions, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-953861-34-4

Reviews: Kirkus (starred), New York Times, Publishers Weekly

Awards: 2023 Batchelder Honor Book

You can buy a copy of João by a Thread here or find it in a library.*

*Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission at no cost to you.

Laura Taylor is the founder of world children’s literature blog Planet Picture Book. She is a small business copywriter, NAATI-certified translator of French into English and member of AUSIT. When she is not writing, she is reading and spending time with her two young children. She occasionally tweets @plapibo and posts at www.planetpicturebook.com