COURAGE TO DREAM Release

Some Coverage of COURAGE TO DREAM:

COURAGE TO DREAM is finally available for purchase today. This book took me 13 years to write and casts unique light on one of the most historically dark chapters of humanity–the Holocaust. While I’ve wanted to write this story for a long time, staring into the dark abyss seemed impossible. What could I add that had not already been said?!

It was daunting to add any element of “fantasy” to such a real nightmare endured by millions of Jews lost before I was even born. Yet, as I’ve seen the very real specter of hate rise in the world, I knew I had to do my part. The stories within are sewn together in a tapestry of tragedy and triumph–tragic because some of them are wistful, full of wishful possibilities of what could have been but wasn’t, and triumphant because each of these stories are inspired by real moments of human compassion, hope, and bravery in the face of despair. 

Video: Bookishly Jewish Interview

I am thrilled to share that "Courage to Dream" has been selected as a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, the esteemed ALA/ALJ award for excellence in Jewish literature!

Summary:

Nation­al Book Award win­ner Neal Shus­ter­man and acclaimed illus­tra­tor Andrés Vera Martínez present a graph­ic nov­el explor­ing the Holo­caust through sur­re­al visions and a tex­tured can­vas of hero­ism and hope.

Courage to Dream plunges read­ers into the Holo­caust — one of the great­est atroc­i­ties in human his­to­ry — delv­ing into the core of what it means to face the extinc­tion of every­thing and every­one you hold dear.

This grip­ping, mul­ti­fac­eted tapes­try is woven from Jew­ish folk­lore and cul­tur­al his­to­ry. Five inter­lock­ing nar­ra­tives explore one com­mon sto­ry — the tra­di­tion of resis­tance and uplift. Neal Shus­ter­man and Andrés Vera Martínez are inter­na­tion­al­ly renowned cre­ators who have col­lab­o­rat­ed on a mas­ter­work that encour­ages the com­pas­sion­ate, bold reach­ing for a dream.