The Dreamer's Companion: A Young Person’s Guide to Understanding Dreams and Using Them Creatively

An exploration of the mysterious world of the unconscious for dreamers age 12 to 16.

Grade 10 UpAThis book is hampered by an overly casual style of writing and unsatisfying insights into dream analysis. Exclamation points appear on even the most benign sentences, and parenthetical asides presumably meant to be witty or funny add nothing. Besides being annoying, they even go so far as to be offensive: "I don't want to hear that you've been hauled off to a clinic" is not the most sensitive sentiment for teens who are troubled by their dreams. The book includes anecdotal information from Policoff's former creative-writing students, but little factual information. Scientists and researchers are quoted, but no citations of their works appear either in the text or in footnotes. The author admits in the appendix that he chose not to cite them "because some of those books are hard to find or close to unreadable." This comment summarizes the tone of the presentation: young adults cannot think for themselves or appreciate serious, scholarly writing. Students do not deserve this drivel; they need to be directed toward other titles, even those by Freud and Jung, in which they may be able to find something other than trendy styles of writing and misguided humor to help them interpret dreams.ACarol Fazioli, Cardinal Hayes Library, Manhattan College, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 8^-12. Dreams and dream interpretation are of natural interest to teens, and this is a handy introductory guide. Policoff, who uses dreams to teach creative writing, covers such topics as mastering the art of lucid dreaming (in which you know you are in a dream), discussing and analyzing dreams, and keeping a dream journal. She also discusses Freud and Jung and their relationship, dream interpretations in other cultures, and the effect of the brain's neurochemicals on dreams. Policoff makes one mistake by adopting a let's-be-pals tone that kids will spot right away as being put-on ("Do you know the name Sigmund Freud? Raise your hand if you do. Just as I thought, you have most likely heard of Freud!"). Nevertheless, the material is so interesting readers will ignore questions of tone and start taking some of Policoff's suggestions for delving into their dreams. An interesting appendix includes not only an annotated bibliography but also an annotated list of films in which dreams figure prominently. Ilene Cooper