Nightmares by Jason Segel & Kirsten Miller
Corgi Childrens, 2014. ISBN 9780552571920
(Ages: 9+) Highly recommended. Charlie Laird has several problems.
1. His dad married a woman he is sure moonlights as a witch.
2. He had to move into her purple mansion, which is NOT a place you
want to find yourself after dark.
3. He can't remember the last time sleeping wasn't a nightmarish
prospect. Like even a nap.
Charlie is eleven years old and not very happy. In fact, he's
exhausted and constantly terrified by the awful nightmares he has
night after night. Ever since his mum died and his dad
remarried, Charlie's life has become worse by the day - or so it
seems to him. Even at school, there seems to be no escape because
despite the fact that his long-time friends still stick by him, they
are all being menaced by the horrendously scary new principal.
Gradually, Charlie discovers that it is not just his dreams that are
being taken over and in fact, the whole of Cedar Creek is in danger
of becoming lost to the real world forever.
Facing fears is never easy but Charlie does this with the help of
not only his Cedar Creek friends but also some newly acquired
Netherworld friends when he crosses through the portal between
waking and dreaming for real.
Spooky enough to be exciting, but not in any sense graphic or nasty,
this is a super book for children to respond to about their own
fears. The humour throughout moderates the suspense and the reader
is able to explore themes such as friendships, support and
solidarity, grief/loss, being judgmental and accepting differences.
Aside from the obvious aspect of frightening nightmares, it is also
a wonderful opportunity to examine the 'fear' of a new step-parent
and changes in the family dynamic. Charlie could not have been more
wrong about his 'step-monster' Charlotte and discovers for himself
that sometimes it is easy to misinterpret the actions and
appearances of others.
Multi-talented Jason Segel says he also had nightmares as a child
and this was one of his motivations for writing this novel for
middle-school kids - the first in a proposed trilogy.
Visit the Nightmares website here
for activities, videos and more information.
Sue Warren