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Original Essays | September 23, 2009

Jonathan Lethem: IMG Stops: On Those Things My New Novel Forgot to Be About, Maybe



For me, there's a weird, unfathomable gulf — I almost wrote gulp — between the completion of a novel and its publication. Some days this duration feels interminable, as though the book has... Continue »
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1 Beaverton Children's Middle Readers- General

Gossamer

by Lois Lowry

Gossamer Cover

ISBN13: 9780385734165
ISBN10: 0385734166
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $3.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Littlest One is a tiny creature slowly learning her job of giving dreams to humans. Each night she and her teacher, Thin Elderly, visit an old woman’s home where she softly touches beloved objects, gathering happy memories, and drops of old scents and sounds. Littlest One pieces these bits together and presents them to her sleeping human in the form of pleasant dreams. But the dreaded Sinisteeds, dark fearsome creatures that plague their victims with nightmares, are always at work against the dreamgivers. When the old woman takes in John, an angry foster child with a troubled past, the Sinisteeds go after him with their horrifying nightmares. Can Littlest One, and her touch light as gossamer, protect John’s heart and soul from the nightmare of his dark past?

Review:

“Lowry’s prose is simple and clear. This carefully plotted fantasy has inner logic and conviction. Readers will identify with Littlest, who is discovering her own special talents. . . . A beautiful novel with an intriguing premise.”–School Library Journal, Starred

Synopsis:

In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and imagination, a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see.

Synopsis:

Where do dreams come from? What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears? Drawing on her rich imagination, two-time Newbery winner Lois Lowry confronts these questions and explores the conflicts between the gentle bits and pieces of the past that come to life in dream, and the darker horrors that find their form in nightmare. In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and imagination, two people--a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy--face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see.

About the Author

Lois Lowry has twice been the recipient of Newbery Medals and has written many popular books for children.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
crowyhead, July 18, 2008 (view all comments by crowyhead)
[close] Littlest One and her teacher, Thin Elderly, are tiny creatures whose job it is to touch beloved objects and then piece the bits of memory and emotion therein into dreams for humans. It is a wonderful vocation, but not without its dangers: there are also the Sinisteeds, terrible creatures that plague people with nightmares. Perhaps most frightening of all, dream-givers like Littlest One and Thin Elderly can become Sinisteeds if they don't do their work carefully.

Littlest One and Thin Elderly are in charge of giving dreams to a kind old woman, a fairly simple task. But when the woman takes in John, a foster child, his anger and troubled past leave him open to torment by the Sinisteeds, and the dream-givers must find a way to counteract this.

This is a short novel, but Lowry is adept at sketching out a tantalizing and fascinating story in so few pages. Her use of launguage is lovely, and I was utterly absorbed.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780385734165
Author:
Lowry, Lois
Publisher:
Yearling Books
Author:
Lowry, Lois
Subject:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subject:
Dreams
Subject:
Foster home care
Subject:
Bedtime & Dreams
Subject:
Fantasy & Magic
Subject:
Child abuse
Publication Date:
January 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
154
Dimensions:
760x530x45 28
Age Level:
09-12

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