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

by Stephen Phillip Policoff

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781556522802
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/01/1997
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.59(d)
Age Range:	12 - 16 Years

Editorial Reviews

Gr 10 UpThis 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.Carol Fazioli, Cardinal Hayes Library, Manhattan College, NY

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