The Dream Book: A bedtime adventure about dream journalling for the very young!

By Author / Illustrator

Bia Melo

Genre

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Age range(s)

Publisher

Templar Publishing

ISBN

9781800784581

Format

Hardback

Published

29-06-2023

Synopsis

A fun, wacky dreamworld adventure that makes for the perfect bedtime story from debut talent, author-illustrator Bia Melo!

Nina is not like the other children. She doesn't want to stay up late like the grown-ups do. In fact, she can't WAIT to go to sleep . . . because that's when dreams happen. She goes on amazing adventures to the jungle, explores cake villages and visits a city on wheels. When she wakes up she MUST tell everyone . . . but something strange is happening. Her dreams wiggle and twist, shrink and grow until they're nothing like her dream at all. And then one night, her dream isn't fun or exciting . . . but quite scary instead. Join the determined heroine as she captures her dreams once and for all!

With its bright, bold illustrations, this bedtime book dives into early experiences of good and bad dreams. It explores dream journalling for the very young, making this the perfect book to share with little ones as they settle to sleep. The ideal companion for readers of You Choose Your Dreams, What Will You Dream Tonight?, Peace at Last and No Sleep for Bear.

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Reviews

What a gorgeous book, and it also has some really useful ideas on how to encourage young children to remember and communicate their dreams, at an age when they are less able to communicate what might be worrying them in their dreams.

The Dream Book suggests that young children draw their dreams, and gives some really lovely examples of what the child in the book might be dreaming about. The illustrations in the book are deliberately very child-like to help give young children confidence in creating their own drawings after reading about the child's dreams in this story. Indeed the spreads in the book are so lovely that I am sure reading this book at bedtime will also inspire the sweetest dreams! However, the author also acknowledges that not all dreams will be sweet, and finds a way to tackle the less comforting dreamscapes.

I can see this beautiful story being used for art lessons to encourage children to draw what they dream about or would like to dream about, as well as using it in story circles as a prompt for discussing our dreams and what might worry us at bedtimes. In homes, it can be used at bedtimes to help young children not feel afraid of their dreams, as well as helping them to recall their dreams for 'dream journaling' - helping parents to understand what their child is feeling or is anxious about, too. There are instructions at the back to suggest how to use The Dream Book effectively. Highly recommended.

Picture book / Reviewed by Elen Green