The Dream Guardian

The Dream Guardian is targeted at 8-years-old-ish and upwards readers and is based, in part, on the bedtime stories I used to tell my granddaughters Ella (now 18) and Georgia (almost 16) when they were much younger and stayed over at our place. My two younger granddaughters, Emilie (11) and Lottie (9) missed out simply because they live in France and this was the motivation to write the book. Here's the summary:

Grandpa is a storyteller. He's also The Dream Guardian, charged with looking after hundreds of bottles of dreams, both happiness dreams and nightmares. His grandchildren, Tommy and Nikki, often visit him to listen to a story and, in Tommy's case, learn how to become the new Dream Guardian when the time comes. Listen to stories about hidden temples, a runaway dog, four-winged fairies, stag beetles, witches, Arthur (the original Dream Guardian), adventurous train journeys, and much more. Plus learn about a secret room, a secret book and map, and how to redream a bottled dream.

Each chapter in the book continues an on-going story wherein Grandpa tells Tommy about becoming the Dream Guardian and relates the history of how his great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Arthur, discovered the Dream Trappers followed by the Dream Makers and the Valley of the Dream Seeds after an epic journey through the jungle, across a desert, over a mighty river on a rickety suspension bridge, and finally by climbing up to the pass to get over a mountain. Embedded in each chapter, however, is an unrelated story targeted at Tommy or his younger sister Nikki, or both. As the book proceeds, so Grandpa introduces the two children to interactive "What happens next?" storytelling and, in the final chapter, Tommy and Nikki write and present their own story to Grandpa. Along the way, the children learn about giraffes and evolution, negative numbers, how to construct a secret room in a house, animals with strange names, walking versus running in the rain, why the sky is blue, daydreaming and déjà vu, Nutella, how to find the exit in a maze and other puzzles, the origins of the Hasbro toy factory, Grandpa's love of dark-chocolate digestive biscuits, and much more interesting and eclectic stuff.
This book is designed to be read to listeners aged 8-years-old and upwards. The intention is not only to captivate the child but also to educate in various ways. There is a lookup section at the back for words that might be unfamiliar to younger listeners or readers. If you are reading the book on your own, enjoy!