Dream Hop by Julia Durango, illustrated by Jared Lee ages 4-8 32 pages Simon & Schuster Children's September 2005 Hardcover     I could have used Dream Hop when I was a kid. I had nightmares pretty much every time I drifted off to sleep, imaginative little child I was. This truly creative and imaginative book solves the age-old problem of nightmares by offering kids a fun way to “hop” out of a bad dream and into a good one. Based upon first-time author Julia Durango’s real-life experience with her own toddler, whom she discovered was a dream-hopper, this book is sure to be a big hit with kids of all ages, and maybe even a few adults like me who still have bad dreams! Told in a bouncy, rhyming style, the story follows a little boy who dreams of beasties and pirates and all sorts of nastiness, and when things get to hairy-scary, he calls out “dream hop,” and moves on to a good dream instead. Delightfully illustrated by Jared Lee, a successful artist whose illustrations have appeared in books, on greeting cards and in many magazine ads, Dream Hop is fun to read and even more fun to put into action at night snuggled under the covers, and children will really relate to the adventures of the boy who refuses to be controlled by his dreams. The images jump out from the page, with Lee’s lively use of lines and color, and the sing-song text ends on a note that will have children squealing with laughter. Dream Hop is a big, bold and memorable children’s book that takes a negative topic like nightmares and turns it topsy-turvy so children can not only feel a sense of control over their nighttime world, but have fun with it to boot. Hop on!      web reviews   Marie D. Jones/2005 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)