Sorry to those who read the stories to their kids. This one has no dialogue at all. It’s still fun to read, I hope (based on the 362 tales that preceded it). Perfect for budding artists!
A Dream Cast
by
Matt Zurbo
Dedicated to Guy and Garrett
Young boy, about 5, sleeping in bed.
Boy’s bed drifting through air.
Boy falling from bed.
Boy falling.
Boy landing on the back of a flying dragon. The letters “I w i l l c a t c h y o u . . .” falling from dragon’s mouth, landing, jumbled, in soft soil.
Boy walking with dragon and wombat and shy girl, sun and moon characters waiting for them.
Boy walking with dragon, wombat, shy girl, sun, moon, small Hungarian boy pushing stand with fishbowl with jellyfish in it, gothic girl with crescent moon for a balloon and boy with lightening coming from his head, a kid in a wrestling costume playing a trumpet, with several kids in flamboyant animal masks dancing around him. Pterodactyl flying above them.
All of them wading through mud, now also with a baby driving a cardboard box, robot with a girl curled into its chest plate as if she were its heart, and a farmer with a pink balloon that looks like a pig, and a giant.
All pushing into a storm, some tumbling backwards, now including an ant on a leaf, a kid dressed as an astronaut, and a mermaid in a bathtub with trolley under it. Boy is being helped along by shaved monster in tartan pants.
Sea god in storm, arm raised, ready to strike, as everybody, including main boy, walking past it, not noticing. Our group now includes a couple of ninjas, some frogs and two kids racing matchbox boats, a kid on a skateboard with a knight’s helmet on, and a troll. The main boy is wearing the same clothes, but now a bit older, maybe 6 or 7 years old.
Sea god striking down raising water, everybody being washed and/or riding waves.
Boy being propelled into air, alongside gothic girl with crescent moon balloon, wombat, and, trailing behind them, several people in big, bizarre hats, the man-in-the-moon and a girl with colourful, flaming roses.
Boy, now looks about 9 years old, legs everywhere, just holding onto the tail of a constellation unicorn, a constellation wombat and platypus are in the sky, too. Boy is surrounded by small aliens dancing on hover boards, man-in-moon and gothic girl are keeping up by rowing a tin boat through space, a kid with skis on is holding onto one of the hover pads with alien on it for dear life. Towards the rear are a boy and a girl in a bathtub standing on its head, riding it through space. A giant daisy or two, and a few cogs can be seen starting to appear in direction the main boy and the rest are heading towards.
Boy, walking up, across page, through giant cogs, gears, flowers and circular patterns. A very pretty page. Hiding behind these shapes, watching are a whole heap of cheeky Latino kids. Most of the characters from the previous page are walking, too, as is a bulldog. A giant fish tail can be seen where boy is heading.
Boy now looks about 12 years old/tween. Him and gothic girl, wombat and man-in-moon riding a giant trout up through middle of the page with giant kookaburra, octopus, sea crab, crocodile, all heading in same up and across direction. Other creatures being ridden by previously mentioned characters, plus a handful of Ned Kellys, and another troll.
Boy, now about 15 years old, and characters, now including a gorilla, swinging down, left to right, through canopy of a giant tree, past tree house, which is housed by lazing medieval puppets, including a puppet dragon and musician and king. There is a kid in bottom left of frame hosing a monster.
Boy, now a teenager, falling/diving from tree, towards water, into middle of a perfectly patterned circle of mermaids, octopi, giant crabs, and skeletal pirates. The boy/teenager is being followed by a wake of other tumbling, previously mentioned characters, but including a cheeky monkey, a werewolf, a Latino kid surrounded by falling dominos and a detective dog, sniffing someone’s bum.
A kid, being held by the pants by an eagle, is flying around a giant, who is hunched, holding a big black hole above the ground. Main boy/teenager, and gothic girl, followed by all the rest, are falling out of the black hole, down towards the line of other walking characters from the start of the book. Line of characters now include boy with one massive iron boot, several lyrebirds, a hippo, with the mermaid in the bath on its back, and at least six monsters.
Closer image of line of walkers, left to right, headed by main boy/teenager. They include gothic girl, a man with the planets spinning round his head, a half-kid/half tiger, and tall, skinny frost man, a girl covered in/trailing flowers, a lama, and a girl in long dress with tentacles instead of feet and an impossible number of sharp teeth.
Boy, now a young adult, standing to the side of the line of walking characters. The gothic girl and wombat are beside him, all three closer to reader, back to them, watching others walking into pages of a giant book. Walkers include a monster carrot, some chickens, a walking tree house with winding slide with kids on it, a singing girl. A monster, hunched, carrying the bed it hides under, with a girl on bed, both are dancing. Two girls that look alike holding hands skipping but one is green with three eyes, a boy casually flying/being propelled forward, by his farts, another boy with a tree growing from his head, with people sitting on the branches…
Boy/young adult, watching as last of characters go into book, and gothic girl and wombat start to walk towards end of line, too. Book is shrinking. Last characters include a girl reaching hand up to offer food to a seagull, a garbo, a boy with spring feet, a penguin, kids playing drums, a zombie in love with a ghoul, a child magician, a bunyip, a girl who is knitting, a dancing Aboriginal girl, an old man in hospital gown holding a plasma stand, a tin dragon, a circus strongman juggling, a crow and a girl flying a small, wonky plane…
Boy, now man, walking towards book as it shrinks and wombat is last to enter it.
Boy/Man holding book, looking down at it, with a warm smile, as he walks.
Boy/Man walking with book, small baby girl sitting in front of him.
Man sitting on ground with girl, who’s eyes are wide with wonder, as they read from book together. From this angle we can see the book’s cover has a fine circle on it, with a linear love heart in middle.
The End
365 kids books in 365 days 