Module 8, Nightmares

Cover

 

Nightmares, By Jason Segel 

Overview:
A boy named Charlie has recently lost his mother and is going through a hard time. Not long after his mothers death his father decides to remarry and they all move into his new mothers creepy house. During this difficult transition Charlie starts having nightmares and suspects his stepmother is at the root of all of his problems. In his investigation of his nightmares and suspected witch stepmother he stumbles upon a portal. His brother and friends enter this Nether world of danger and freight and he must save them.  They all ban together to conquer monsters and their worst fears.

Segel, J. (2014.) Nightmares. New York, NY: Random House Publishing.

Little Library Review: This book was as humorous as it was scary. I enjoyed reading this story most because of the tone of the characters in the story. It was written in a fun and smart way. The nightmares were graphic and terrifying but it was balanced with the humor of Charlie and his friends. I would not read this with younger readers because of the scary content but definitely appropriate for older readers that will separate the content from reality.

Other Professional Reviews: Gr 4–6— Eleven-year-old Charlie Laird is absolutely convinced that his stepmother Charlotte is a witch. She dresses funny, serves seriously strange food (kale pancakes), and runs a store called Hazel's Herbarium. Charlie's dad, little brother, and friends all like Charlotte and think Charlie's still grieving for his mom. He's also suffering from terrible nightmares, and living in Charlotte's crazy purple mansion isn't helping. The evil witch who stars in those nightmares threatens to follow the protagonist into the real world and kidnap his brother. Instead, he is tricked into the Nightmare World, peopled with monsters and madness: gorgons, goblins, crazy clowns, scary bunnies, tests filled with gibberish, and the monomaniacal President Fear (who also inhabits the real world as the truly terrifying Principal Stearns). But all is not what it seems, and some of the scariest creatures turn out to be sympathetic—or even allies. There are lessons to be learned about facing fears and uncovering the real enemy in this tale. Pals Alfie, Rocco, and Paige are interesting and fairly three-dimensional; most of the adults (with the exceptions of Fear/Stearns and Charlotte) are merely background. The fear is as much psychological as anything, and there's humor and a fairly high ick-factor, but relatively little violence. A good choice for elementary-aged scare-seekers.—Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Alpert, M. (2014). Nightmares!. School Library Journal, 60(9), 132.

Using it in the Library 📖: Something fun and interesting to do as you are reading this book in a literature circle or book club, is to stop and read another book that tells you what descriptions of dreams meaning. I think kids would find this information interesting and maybe get them reading into another book. Whether it is true or not, students would still enjoy the mystery and questioning.