Dreams and Visions: Fourteen Flights of Fantasy [Hardcover]

M. Jerry Weiss (Author), Helen S. Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2006 | Age Level: 10 and up

Let your imagination soar and take flight with these fourteen original tales of fantasy and science fiction by a distinguished line-up of award-winning children's and young adult authors.

Joan Bauer gives us Chloe, a fantasy writer trying to tell a new story--but her characters won't cooperate.
Suzanne Fisher Staples introduces us to the powers of djinn in her magical tale set in Pakistan.
Charles de Lint offers a romantic tale set during the Summer of Love in his mythical city of Newford.
A witch's son seeks revenge in a chilling murder mystery by Michael O. Tunnell.
Craig and Jessica, two high school runners, star in this story of transformation by Rich Wallace.
Patrice Kindl's mysterious Mrs. Duck moves into the boring town of Refreshing Acres--and nothing is ever the same again.
In S.L. Rottman's action-packed tale, the world is on fire, and it's a race to the water's edge.
David Lubar thrills us with his story of Deborah, an aspiring magician.
Mel Glenn shares a conversation between Ryan and an Angel in the afterlife.
Jessie's encounter with a toad changes her life in this uplifting tale by Nancy Springer.
A soldier meets the ghost of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, in John Ritter's thought-provoking story.
An oracle makes an unsettling prediction in Sharon Dennis Wyeth's tale.
Neal Shusterman introduces us to a young thief who holds the fate of the universe in his hands.
Tamora Pierce's story takes us to the land of Hartunjar, where women are subservient to men--but not for long…

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Fourteen high-quality stories from such YA heavy hitters as Joan Bauer, Tamora Pierce, David Lubar, and Nancy Springer. Highlights include Patrice Kindl's Depressing Acres, an amusing modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel, and John Ritter's politically charged Baseball in Iraq (Being the True Story of the Ghost of Gunnery Sergeant T.J. McVeigh). Although the pieces are all strong, the subject matter varies greatly and the work as a whole may leave fans of traditional fantasy unsatisfied as some of the selections are straight fiction. The lengthy introduction, as well as the plot summaries preceding each story, will most likely irritate readers as they give away too much of the plot. Despite these flaws, the collection is solid and would make a good addition to short-story collections.-Michelle Roberts, Merrick Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Readers will recognize many of the teen characters in the 14 stories in this collection, which encompasses a broad range of common themes--family obligations, love, war, competition, revenge. However, in each story there's something that transforms the ordinary into the unusual; witches, supernatural beings, oracles, and other supernatural figures stretch the imagination. The stories reflect diverse time periods, locations, and cultures and several selections encourage thought about deeper issues--for example, Are individuals free to shape their future or is their destiny controlled by fate? A stellar roundup of writers--among them Joan Bauer, David Lubar, Tamora Pierce, and Sharon Dennis Wyeth--contributed tales; brief author biographies are appended. Try this on readers not typically drawn to fantasy. Nancy Kim
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Starscape; 1st edition (March 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765312492
• ISBN-13: 978-0765312495
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,333,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short story heaven, June 20, 2006

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www.frontstreetreviews.com "Front Street Reviews" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams and Visions: Fourteen Flights of Fantasy (Hardcover)

This refreshing story collection can best be described as "fantasy for people who think they don't like fantasy." I am one of those people. A die-hard realistic fiction problem novel reader, I was attracted to this book because of the impressive authors writing for the collection: Joan Bauer, David Lubar, Mel Glenn, and Neal Shusterman, to name a few. While their stories are great, readers will find new favorites that will keep them moving through the book quickly.

In Depressing Acres by Patrice Kindl, Mona is immediately suspicious of her new neighbor. The old lady has weird plants growing in her yard, she dresses strangely, and children who enter her house don't come out. She loves to give away delicious homemade sweets, and when adults eat the sweets they seem to stop wondering about the bizarre goings-on in the old lady's house. Now she's after Mona's little sister.

Jameel's grown up in the US, but he and his family return to Pakistan when his grandfather dies. Jameel's grandfather and other spirits visit him and his cousin in Suzanne Fisher Staples' vivid story Jameel and the House of Djinn. The spirits want Jameel to know that his Pakistani heritage is valuable, and following his American values does not always lead to the best decision.

A bad case of writer's block, a magician who casts real spells along with her card tricks, and a track star with a crush on a fellow runner who reminds her of her horse are just a few of the other characters you will meet in this delightfully varied collection that will attract new readers to the fantasy genre.