Review: Dreamweavers: Night of the Scary Fairies

Dreamweavers:  Night of the Scary Fairies is the first book in a magical new fantasy series for younger readers of 7+.

Tito wakes from a strange dream where he is in his Spiderman PJs in a field filled with tiny, glowing winged creatures – and one of them even bites him! Surely, he couldn’t really have been awake in his dreams, could he?  When he is asked to look after new girl, Neena, on his first day in Year 5, it is not long before he is telling her about his strange dreams, and she introduces him to the magical world of Dreamweaving …

When Tito’s best friends Tiff and Murray begin to act out of character, Tito and Neena decide to enter their dreams to find out what has happened.  They discover that someone with sinister intent is using the jinn fairies from the dreamworld to change people in the real world.  Can they discover who has made the fairies scary?  Can they break the enchantment and return their school friends to their true selves?

This is a richly imaginative adventure mixing warmth and humour with just the right amount of scary.  I loved the concept of dreamweaving where dreamweavers can control their dreams and create amazing worlds with quirky creatures, limited only by their imagination – anyone for a talking hot dog, or a sparrow with a moustache?  I think children would have great fun creating their own dream world, providing a perfect opportunity for creative art and writing.

I absolutely loved the brilliant twist which brings the world of dreaming and wakefulness together in such an exciting way.  I can just see the gasps from children as realisation hits!

Tito and Neena are incredibly likeable characters who develop a close friendship as they work together to help their school friends, and stop the Darkweaver (definitely a scary villain) from merging the spirit and human worlds.  Tito is such a kind-hearted, empathetic young boy who does not give up on friendship, but learns about Chitrali folklore so that he has something to talk to Neena – who has moved from Pakistan with her mum and grandma – about.  Despite her initial fear of the Darkweaver, Neena has the courage to apologise to Tito and trust him with the truth so that they can work together to defeat this villain.

I think its so important for children to have the chance to see themselves in stories so I loved the diversity in this adventure including Tito having two mums and Neena’s Chitrali heritage.

The full-and-partial-page illustrations throughout are just gorgeous – wonderfully expressive and complementing both the scary and humorous elements of the story perfectly.    

A fantastic first adventure for the Dream Team, and I can’t wait to join them in Roar of the Hungry Beast. 

Thank you to the publisher, Little Tiger, for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.