I saw a lot of similarities between this book and "The old Woman who Named Things" that I also blogged about earlier. It has a lot of common themes that are present throughout many of Cynthia Rylant's books, the most noticeable one being loneliness. There is this underlying idea of the need to belong, and that works so well for a children's book because everyone can relate to that feeling on some level; it is a common want and need. The character of Solomon Singer just seems so real in this book, and at the end, he is able to find a place where he does belong. The book also plays with the idea of fate, and things that are meant to be. He happens to find this restaurant, and the menu says: "All your dreams come true." And that is, in a sense, what happens once he starts dining there regularly. Although this is a very contemporary and realistic story, there is something magical about that. I loved the way that when the waiter would take his order, he would "order" one of his dreams in his head. he never shares these dreams with anyone, or even says them out loud. This allows the reader to relate to him as a character, because it is almost like we share a secret with him. I love the illustrations because they really make me feel his loneliness, and feel like I am in his shoes. I could see this book being great for studying themes, or to look at one theme in particular.
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