Dreamcatcher (Orchard Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Audrey Osofsky (Author), Audrey Csofsky (Author), Ed Young (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Orchard Paperbacks

While a sister uses a dreamcatcher to catch bad dreams and hold them until the sun destroys their power, an Ojibwa baby sleeps peacefully in a cradle nearby. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-- What was life like for an Ojibway child ``in a time long ago?'' For a baby, like the one at the center of this gentle and lyrical book, it means lying in a cradleboard at the center of family life, ``in the moon of the raspberries,'' while mother works, children play, and father returns with a canoe full of fish. For a big sister, it means helping with the berry-drying and watching grandmother fashion a toy. And it means fashioning a ``dream net'' from willow and nettle-stalk to hang at baby's head, where it catches dreams that even a big sister might fear, while letting good dreams--of sucking maple suger, dancing, running--come through. Young's pastels are vibrantly colored but as tender as the text. The faces in soft shadow or semi-profile could be Everychild's, but the beautifully filtered light belongs only to a woodland-and-water setting. The pages are bordered with a flower garland that might come from the folk art of many peoples. The artist's treatment emphasizes the universally human as well as the culturally particular in this empathic glimpse of Ojibway life. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

With a willow twig and nettle-stalk twine, an Ojibway baby's sister weaves a weblike ``dreamcatcher'' to hang above the crib and sift out bad dreams. The baby sleeps and wakes and sleeps again, the family busy around it. Young's unfocused, impressionistic pastels capture the simplicity of the infant's changing moods with shifts of color and hazy but expressive faces. The authentically scary bad dreams--evil-eyed white owl Kokokoo and a ``raggedy man...his birchbark mask glowing like a ghost''--catch in the net until, ``struck by morning light,'' they die. Some of the text is white, legible on the darker backgrounds but less so on pale spreads like one showing the father in his canoe. A quiet glimpse of family affection and other universals within a particular traditional culture. (Picture book. 0-4) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (NY) (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531071138
• ISBN-13: 978-0531071137
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > United States

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dream Catcher by Audrey Osofsky, February 24, 2000

By 

Lorie Loughbrough (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamcatcher (Library Binding)

This is a story of a day in the life of the Ojibway Indians of the Great Lakes. The story is based on the baby of the tribe, whoses sister weaves a dreamcatcher. A dreamcatcher is a net, which is used to catch bad dreams, holding on to them until sunrise when they will be destroyed. This net was made for the Ojibway baby who watches its family through the day as they work and play, lulled into a restful slumber by the dreamatcher.

This is a wonderful story of how this tribe treasured their good dreams as a source of wisdom. It is very captivating for young readers to relate to dreams in this manner, also comparing the games that the children of this culture play. This poetic text uses a rhythm to keep the young reader interested. The beautiful pastel illustrations are used in an impressionistic way to keep the reader in that dream-like feelng.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informational Book, March 10, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dreamcatcher (Hardcover)

On the Ojibwa Islands of the Great Lakes many people wove nets to protect their babies from harmful dreams. They would weave a dream net on a willow hoop. It would look just like a spider web but the net would be woven of twine. Then they stained it red with the juice from the berries. They believed that this would catch the bad dreams like almost like a spider web catches flies. Then the good dreams would drift through the hole in the center of the dream catcher. The parents always told the children to try to dream and try to remember what they dream. They did this because the believed that every dream had a meaning. If you had a bad dream it was though that something bad was going to happen to you or your family. If you had a good dream it was thought that something good was going to happen. I didn't really enjoy this book because it didn't really grab my attention. It had a good story and legend behind it but the way they explained it didn't interest me. I would recommend this book though if you want to find out the meaning behind a dream catcher. ~ Katelyn Carson

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreamcatcher, September 2, 2004

By 

Laura Redish (Twin Cities, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dreamcatcher (Hardcover)

The best multicultural books use a new culture to illuminate familiar and universal themes. This lovely picture book does exactly that, showing gentle family scenes from an Ojibway Indian baby's perspective. The beautiful illustrations in this book radiate warmth and joy. I'd particularly recommend it for young children with a new sibling--the relationship between baby and big sister is especially touching.