A young girl makes notes of the aspirational dreams of those around her -- a friend who wants to be an actor, her mother who wants to return to her homeland of Costa Rica, etc. Then she goes to sleep with a special volcanic stone from Costa Rica and dreams that she can fly like a bird to meet her grandparents and other family members who still live there.

This is a sweet book for elementary school-age children to enjoy. Ana, her friend, and her mother talk to several people in their neighborhood, getting a highlight of many different kinds of aspirations and goals. Ana's dreaming trip to Costa Rica is evocative and will resonate with anyone missing family living far away.

The painted illustrations work well with this text about dreaming and wishing and working hard. ( )

This is a realistic fiction book about a family who has moved to the United States from Costa Rica. The young girl in this story describes her families memories from her homeland and her desire to one day return.