And continuing on with this amazing series is the sequel, The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie. This book is just as amazing as the first. The artwork is stunning as always. The story captures the reader with its whimsy and the characters have you intrigued about where they come from and how they came to be. I love this book. It's so beautiful.

 

I love that we are getting to see more and more of Pitch Black. You can't help but wonder why he is doing this. What is he getting out of bringing Nightmares to children? We'll just have to continue reading to find out! 

Sandy is a precious being, I love how he cares so much that he himself starts to lose sleep when he is not sure as to how he's going to bring sweet dreams to children. He's just a lovable being.

 

If you love stories about fairy tales and whimsy, if you love a different take about all the characters you've come to know whilst growing up, then read these books. They only get better and better as you keep reading. Highly recommend them! 

This is the story of how the Sandman came to be. The man in the moon tasked the sandman with giving children good dreams. This story follows the Sandman has he carries out this task and encounters the nightmare king. The Sandman fights back after some new friends help him get better after his battle with the nightmare king. Sandy comes out victorious, and continues to give children good dreams to this day.

 

This book would be a great tool to introduce the basic elements of plot. Students could organize the plot based on the plot elements. Students could also do a writing activity about dreams.

 

AR Level 4.6

Some of the surprises this year were wonderful. There were books that I have long been leery of that I found were fantastic. I found Series I wish either existed when I was young or I'd followed from the beginning. And I found this wonderful site called Booklikes that lets me review my books but also just share my thoughts, converse with fellow book lovers, and generally be my space on the internet.

Joyce gives us another back story to one of the figures of childhood mythology: the Sandman. The story is adequate, the villains are creepy, but the art: the art earns this book all its stars. Gorgeous.Library copy.

*5 Stars*



Scorecard: (Out of 10)
* Quality of Writing - 10
* Pace - 9
* Plot development - 9
* Characters - 10
* Enjoyability - 10
* Insightfulness - 10
* Ease of Reading - 9
* Photos/Illustrations - 10
Final Score: 77/80 = 96%

My Review of The Man in the Moon
My Review of Nicholas St. North Chapter Book

*The Gush*

I didn’t think it was possible but I liked this book in some ways better than [b:The Man in the Moon|10390182|The Man in the Moon (The Guardians of Childhood, #1)|William Joyce|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361199496s/10390182.jpg|15293932]!

As previously stated, my first experience with these characters is from the movie. Sandy was one of my favorites because he was such a daring character. Most silent animated characters are barely remembered at all, so to have one of your main Guardians with no voice actor must have been daunting. And yet the character not only stood out but had a wonderful personality and was easily one of the most beloved and easily memorable of the main characters, all while saying nothing very loudly!


Needless to say, I had to know his back story. What I found was a delightful tale of a pilot of a shooting star that dreamed the wishes of people who wished upon his star in order to help make them come true. But as always, Pitch brings ruination and causes the crash of the star. I noted the time “Sandy knew fear, and his fear only made Pitch stronger.” This might explain some parts of the movie I didn’t quite understand. The dream island is beautiful and also explains why many of the dreams in the movie were manta rays. I like that MiM chose him to help the children’s dreams when the Moon is not bright enough. I love it when plot holes are filled! And I like that even a Guardian knows fear and has to overcome it. They are not super beings. The best part, however, is the end where it is explained what you should do if a nightmare slips into your dreams. Another perfect bedtime story.

I think something that really bothered me in the movie, Sandy’s return after his ‘death’, is explained at the end of this book. Sandy defeats the nightmares by saying, “You are not real. You are not true. You are nothing.” Rather like Jamie’s, “I believe in you, I’m just not afraid of you,” from the movie. Also Sandy’s peaceful expression before he is swallowed lends credence to this theory.

I will note that unlike the previous book, all the illustrations in this book are in color, even the ones Pitch is in. Is this because of the brightness and color of children’s dreams? I know some people don’t dream in color but I always have. Maybe I’m reading too much into these books.

Pitch from [b:The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie|13547099|The Sandman The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie (Guardians of Childhood)|William Joyce|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361368464s/13547099.jpg|19112233]
Pitch from [b:The Man in the Moon|10390182|The Man in the Moon (The Guardians of Childhood, #1)|William Joyce|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361199496s/10390182.jpg|15293932]

Once again the illustrations have a richness and a depth that pairs beautifully with the story and the larger idea. In some ways, these pictures are more whimsical and are very delightful. I can’t decide if I like the Mermaids or the Sea Shell soldiers better!


*The Rant*

Where was this series when I was young?!

*Conclusion*

This is another delightful addition to William Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood series. I only wish this had come out when I was a child.