The Dream Stealer [Hardcover]

Sid Fleischman (Author), Peter Sis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

There is a bandit who comes in the night. He does not want pretty silver earrings or dangly gold necklaces, not diamonds or rubies.

What does he want?

Listen, I will tell you.

He wants dreams.

He is supposed to take only nightmares—the dreams of monsters and phantoms—but he's grown scared. He's been taking the good dreams instead.

But one night he steals from the wrong girl.

Susana is clever. She is wily. She is brave.

And she wants her dream back.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—Basing a story on a carved Mexican figure, Fleischman weaves a short tale around a Dream Stealer, Zumpango, who perches outside windows waiting to snitch nightmares from sleeping children. Scared by some of the critters he has lassoed, he starts taking happy dreams. But he hasn't reckoned with Susana, who wants back her interrupted dream of a happy reunion with a friend with whom she has had a fight. She tricks Zumpango into flying her to his lair to take back the dream. There she faces down and outfoxes the nightmare creatures (some borrowed from folktales) and agrees to be Zumpango's new friend if he will leave her good dreams alone. When she is returned home, a phone call from her old friend provides a cheerful end. Sís's ink drawings feature just the right mix of surreal, funny, scary, and reassuring images (but sharp readers will note that while the text has the Dream Stealer escaping an ogre feet first through a narrow window, the illustration shows him stuck head first). Set within a loving Spanish family, the tale twinkles with Fleischman's signature crisp language and laugh-out-loud wordplay. All in all, it's a quick, unique read that's sure to give young chapter-book readers shivers, laughs, and satisfaction.—Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA END

Review

“This fanciful, original tale drawn from Mexican lore…will delight children, as will the narrator’s expertly modulated storyteller’s cadence. Sís’ black and- white illustrations include inventive design elements that reinforce the sense of real and imagined worlds overlapping.” (Booklist (starred review) )

“The tale twinkles with Fleischman’s signature crisp language and laugh-out-loud wordplay…[a] unique read that’s sure to give young chapter-book readers shivers, laughs, and satisfaction.” (School Library Journal )

“The author breathes life into this Mexican-flavored world with a storytelling manner that’s teasing and intriguing by turns.” (Kirkus Reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006175563X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061755637
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Explore the World > Mexico

More About the Author

Since his autobiography, The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life, was published in 1996, Sid Fleischman has been stealing the spotlight with his exuberant brand of nonfiction. Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World is Fleischman's fourth true tale, following the widely acclaimed The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West and the best-selling Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini.
Fleischman's books have been made into films, performed as plays, and translated into nineteen languages. The author was awarded the Newbery Medal for The Whipping Boy.
Sid Fleischman lives in Santa Monica, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TEACHING TOOL, January 30, 2010

By 

J. Dibble "JD" (NY and CT) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dream Stealer (Hardcover)

Talk about an exciting story! My 4th grade students can't put the book down!

Yes, the Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman mirrors Roald Dahl' BFG in many ways, but that makes it a great tool to teach comparing/contrasting. It also has similes on almost every page, which the kids love interpreting and using in their own writing. I also like the fact that the book takes place in Mexico, hence, giving its main characters and setting a non-stereotypical flair. My students took weeks to learn to say the name Consuelo Louisa properly, and I'm fine, fine, fine with that.