The Sandman

November 19, 2012
In the second picture-book installment in Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood series, Sanderson Mansnoozie (aka, the Sandman) is enlisted by the Man in the Moon and does battle with the Nightmare King, Pitch. With his cherubic face, cottony hair, and chubby body, Sandy is an unlikely match for the vampiric Pitch, who unleashes ghoulish nightmares to terrorize children. Joyce creates a celestial battleground of constellations, threads of stardust, and inky skies before Sandy’s shooting star crashes into the ocean, where—encountering lushly beautiful mermaids—he transforms Pitch’s nightmares into dreams. Joyce revels in this whimsical reimagining of a legendary figure; after all, when dealing in dreams, the sky’s the limit. A film based on Joyce’s series arrives in theaters November 21. Ages 4–8. Agent: Michael Siegel, Michael Siegel & Associates.

September 15, 2012
At the behest of the Man in the Moon, shooting-star captain Sanderson Mansnoozie takes on a new responsibility--guarding Earth's children from the evil Pitch and his Dream Pirates. Back in the Golden Age, he was tasked with sending dreams down to everyone who made a wish upon his passing fiery vessel (because a granted wish "always begins with a dream," as the narrator circularly notes). Now Sandy wakes after eons of sleep to sail our planet's skies on a cloud of golden Dreamsand and assist in chasing away the nightmares plaguing slumbering children. Like the Guardians of Childhood origin tale it succeeds, The Man in the Moon (2011), the plotline and internal logic seem rudimentary next to Joyce's extravagantly ornate illustrations. Here, amid dramatic curls and swirls of glowing sand, the smiling, newly minted Lord High Protector of Sleep and Dreams cuts a stubby but intrepid figure--topped by a wild golden mane and surrounded by attentive seashells and lissome, tattooed mermaids--as he does his nighttime work beneath deep fields of stars and a benevolently smiling moon. The art makes a bigger impression than the story, but the overall tone is appropriately dreamy, and as for that creeping nightmare: "you know it's not real." (Picture book. 5-9)

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December 1, 2012

Gr 4-6-This slightly overwritten, sumptuously illustrated original folktale continues Joyce's epic series. The Man in the Moon (introduced in the first book as MiM) was the first of the "Guardians of Childhood," and it was he who discovered the others. The Sandman (aka Sandy) spends his time piloting a shooting star and delivering wishes through his constant dreaming. But when the nefarious Pitch, King of the Nightmares, attacks him, he loses control of his star and crashes into Earth. MiM's wish allows him to land safely and to fill his island with dreams. Eventually he awakens, his island turns to a cloud, and he takes on the role of Sandman, protector of good dreams. Joyce's multimedia illustrations are lush and detailed. Sandy's starship seems to actually glow against the starry sky, and Pitch is dark and menacing, his minions black, creepy, and goblinesque. The many full-bleed spreads on dark backgrounds are cinematic in scope, detailed, and a pleasure to view. The text is written in an ornate, old-fashioned way that fits the style of the story but occasionally becomes labored or overwrought. Because of the recent film, there may be requests for this book and the earlier titles.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2012
Preschool-G Joyce's work has always had an oddball charm, even in its most commercial Rolie Polie Olie moments. Both his texts and illustrations are whimsical, with allusions to classic late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century children's lit paired with swirly nouveau and stylized deco forms. This second in the Guardians of Childhood series opens with the hero of The Man in the Moon (2011) looking for a helper in his endeavor to keep children safe at night. Enter Sandy, aka the Sandman, aka Sanderson Mansnoozie. This rotund ball of baby fat pilots a star until it falls prey to Pitch, King of Nightmares, whose minions Sandy later vanquishes. While the story doesn't quite have the coherent sweetness of Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo (1995) or The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs (1996), it makes a pleasant nighttime read, and the illustrations of tattooed mermaids, heroic constellations, and the golden Sandy himself are worth poring over time and again. Grown-ups and children alike will savor this book's rich, old-fashioned charms.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)