Nightmares! by Segel and Miller - ESSENTIAL

Segel, Jason and Kirsten Miller Nightmares!, illustrated by Karl Kwasny.  355 p. Delacorte (Random), 2014.  $17.  Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (nighmare-ish, but not bloody scariness).  

Charlie Laird’s mother died a year ago and he angry that his dad has remarried and moved him and his little brother to the home of his new stepmother – the scary, purple house on the hill.  To add to his misery, he tries as hard as he can not to sleep, because he has had vivid nightmares every night.  Nightmares so vivd, that he finds out he has opened a portal between the waking world and the nightmare world and the Nightmares are determined to find their way through and conquer the world.  Courage, forgiveness and lots of help from his friends are all that stand between Charlie and disaster.  

I would hate to see Segel and Miller’s nightmares!  This is crazy good – full of near disasters, but also loaded with realistic ideas of voicing your grief, accepting love, and trusting others to share your burdens.  I really hope these two are going to write more together, scary or not, because this was stellar!  

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher