The Sandman and the War of Dreams

The Guardians #4

by William Joyce

In their fourth chapter book adventure, the Guardians recruit Sanderson ManSnoozy, the sleepy legend also known as the Sandman, to their cause.

When the Man in the Moon brought together the Guardians, he warned them that they would face some terrible evils as they strove to protect the children of earth. But nothing could have prepared them for Pitch has disappeared and taken Katherine with him. And now the Guardians are not only down one member, but a young girl is missing.

Fortunately, MiM knows just the man to join the team. Sanderson ManSnoozy—known in most circles as the Sandman—may be sleepy, but he’s also stalwart and clever and has a precocious ability to utilize sand in myriad ways. If the other Guardians can just convince Sandy that good can triumph evil, that good dreams can banish nightmares, they’ll have themselves quite a squad. But if they can’t…they might never see Katherine again.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Adventure, Magic, Juvenile

222 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

William Joyce does a lot of stuff—films, apps, Olympic curling—but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Numberlys, The Man in the Moon, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, Toothiana, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also an Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives with his family in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet the newest Guardian: Sanderson ManSnoozy.
Yep, he's the Sandman, but a chubbier and much quirkier version that one might expect (it depends which version of the story one has grown up with).

Pitch has kidnapped Katherine (how Katherine went missing was actually very cool as it introduced Mother Nature, who is none other than Pitch's daughter! So the Guardians not only have to come together once again but rally their newest member. The former captain of a shooting star may be sleepy most of the time but they sure need his cleverness and his sand. Oh, the wonderful things he can do with his sand! Your imagination is the limit!

I loved how the Sandman was all about the power of stories and was thus able to give the children, Bear, Mr. Qwerty and the other Guardians important background information on Kozmotis Pitchiner and Emily Jane. Which is the story of how he ended up on Earth and involved in this conflict. It's also the story of good people getting corrupted by bad ones and of so much more (saying it all would give too much away though).

And here are some examples of the once again enchantingly wonderful illustrations we're given throughout the book:






Now, for the first time, I'll finally be able to read the ending to this story (in December). I'm already very much looking forward to it as this series is a wonderful modern fairytale.



Original review:
Another great book in the series, this time with the quirky and cute Mansnoozie. xD
The lovely drawings the author put into his books (in this as much as the others) make this a little treasure box. And I'm glad that the series isn't over yet and that there are two more books to come. Differnet here as well as in the previous volume is the sort of cliffhanger (not really, more like foreboding) the author put at the end. But that's not a bad thing. I hope the next volume will be about Jack Frost.
Also, for all those who have seen the movie: it's cool to read the stories and to read about this or that detail which they've put into the movie - great work! :-D

[Kat (Lost in Neverland) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excuse me, what?

This is what it says on the back of my copy of Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies;

The next chapter in our ongoing saga; Featuring the desperate mission to save Katherine and the appearance of a wayward lad of considerable interest named Jackson Overland Frost.



HOLY SHEET.



After Finishing

Okay, cute story and all, as usual. But my one question is this; where's Jack Frost? He was supposed to at least appear in this one, as it said in the previous book, but there was not even a hint of him in this book.

I suspected that Nightlight was Jack Frost from the very beginning, and now it might be coming true, considering the circumstances. I only hope they stay by the claim of Jack Frost appearing, at least in the last book of the series.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read, but it felt a bit rushed. We got another glimpse at Pitch's past and it's so heartbreaking, but unfortunately he's lost. Also, Nightlight is finally slowly turning into my favorite character of the whole series, so I'm extra excited to read the final book!

I'm just curious how everything fits together timeline-wise in the end, since I've read the picture book of Jack Frost and watched the movie and it feels a bit... weird? I really don't understand the whole timeline yet, but I'll hope the last book will give some insight.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful continuation of The Guardians of Childhood series. The introduction and inclusion of Sandman is well done and his backstory is quite incredible. He has an intriguing connection with Pitch's daughter that adds so much depth to the characters of Pitch, Sandman, and Pitch's daughter, Emma Jane . It's also interesting to read Pitch's further fall into darkness and complete irreparability of his corruptness. The further development of Nightlight is amazing and the story beautifully resolves the cliffhanger from the last books. A must read for those who enjoyed the film Rise of the Guardians and/or have enjoyed the last book. Please be forewarned though, even though a certain character's appearance was teased in the last book, they never do appear however it appears that another book is in the works. Therefore we definitely still have that to look forward to.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just lowkey wanna see jack frost thats all im asking for

[irene ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incluso para ser un libro infantil, el clímax me pareció muy decepcionante.

[A. Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the slow, subtle way that we're getting the history of characters I didn't even know I was missing (i.e. Nightlight and Pitch's daughter). Joyce is a master of bringing us along with these characters and I really enjoyed getting to know more about the Sandman.

The only thing I was mildly disappointed about was that the end of Toothiana's book mentions Jack Frost being in this latest one and he wasn't. I was looking for him through most of the book (having seen the movie and enjoyed it!) so that was a bit of a letdown. Although it does also mean that I cannot wait for the next one!

I think, once this series is done, Joyce could easily combine all these stories into one volume. They flow so easily together that I wouldn't mind that at all.

[León Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un montón de imaginación, mundo épico y fascinante, magia en toda su expresión... Pero más rápido y comprimido que tomar una píldora.

Francamente, creo que es un gran libro, una fantasía en toda regla, con toques legendarios y mucha acción, pero cuesta creer la cantidad de historias, los personajes y los hechos que meten en cada página. Francamente, me atragantaba con tantas ideas interesantes, pero lamenté no poder profundizar en ellas. 

Literalmente, está escrito como un cuento para antes de dormir, para niños, todo es sumamente claro y sencillo de entender, pero creo que el sentimiento, más allá de la imagen magnífica y el despliegue de imaginación, se queda en un lugar algo plano. 

Parece obvio que funciona de esta manera para recibir a un público infantil, no hace falta un gran lenguaje, solo una historia brillante y mágica, escrita con sencillez, por lo que consideraría injusto criticarla por lo que desearía qué fuera, sin embargo, uno siente lo que siente, y siento que quisiera mucho más de este mundo, de esta historia. 

En fin, que a pesar de ser grandiosa, me doy cuenta de que no fue del todo para mí, y aunque eso, en lo personal, no es alentador, no puedo menos que admirar lo que debe ser para otros.

Calificación personal: 3.5

Calificación como obra en general: 4.5

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very lovely indeed. Again, gorgeous illustrations. This time we get a lot of back story which I particularly enjoyed. It follows the same structure as the previous books. Could have used more bunny.

it was a smile of total reassurance and gave all who saw it a feeling of intense well-being. Not joy, but something akin to a sleepy peace. A sort of not-a-worry-in-the-world sensation.


Then valiant Nightlight, hero of so many battles, faced the most bewildering moment of his endless boyhood: a kiss

[Leselissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was my first e-book read ever!

I hesitated to read e-books for quite long, but eventually i wanted to give it a try.
It's okay. I certainly will read more books the electronic way, though basically i'll stick with 'real' books. :)

Apart from that, i like this Guardian story!
Ever since i watched "The Rise of the Guardians", i'm interested in the original story behind it and here is one part of it.
I'd like to read the other Guardian stories as well... in form of an e-book. ;)

[Diana Cano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy sorprendida, tanto por la historia detrás de Sombra, la de Madre Naturaleza y siento que mis sospechas son ciertas con respecto a Luz nocturna en mi primera reseña.

La batalla no lo parece pues Sombra está muy tranquilo y lo vencen aparentemente de manera fácil, pero todo queda claro al leer el último capítulo.

[Grace Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

HELLO?!?!?!?!! This book was the best by far of the first four books. The writing and the characters were so much more complex in this one!!! I also liked how little it involves Pitch. Iconic. A sprinkling of both Peter Pan and, oddly enough, King Lear (that's a bit of a stretch, but it was the first thing my mind thought of when Katherine thanks Sandy). LOVED this one.

[Andrew Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed the literary world of the Guardians. The Sandman worked so well in the movie as a silent character. Here his thoughts are communicated telepathically, but still minimal. The other Guardians take a back seat, as this book mostly deals with Nightlight and exposition, but it does a good job of setting up the final book.

[Rafael Gimenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lindo maravilhoso, essa história é incrivel, esse homem é a sensação do verão. Em pouquíssimas páginas esse homem conta uma pequena história muito cheia de vida, divertida e lindamente ilustrada.

[Ylenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was the last book! I feel so stupid LOL

[Stacie (MagicOfBooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will also do a video review here at my channel: http://www.youtube.com/magicofbooks

"The Sandman and the War of Dreams" is book four in "The Guardians" series by William Joyce. We are introduced to the mysterious, silent, but lovable Sanderson Mansnoozie who joins the Guardians to help save Katherine who has been kidnapped by Pitch and Mother Nature before she is trapped in the world of nightmares for all eternity.

I adore this series. There's just something really sweet and charming about it, and it reads like classic children's literature like "Peter Pan" or "Alice in Wonderland." Though I do love the series, I gotta say that this fourth book is probably not my favorite. There was nothing particularly wrong about it. I still liked the characters and I still liked the story. But I felt like there wasn't much of anything going on. For the most part, I think we spend a good chunk of the story in flashback mode when Sandy is trying to explain the backstory of Pitch and Mother Nature and his role in that story. So the present story of Katherine being kidnapped lingers in the background until the very end and is wrapped up fairly quickly. I think I would have preferred a bit more balance within the narrative, but that might just be me. And I also felt like, since we did spend a good chunk of time in flashback mode, we didn't spend enough time with the actual Guardians, like North, Bunnymund, and Toothiana. I particularly love the North/Bunnymund bromance because in past books their relationship reminded me of Kirk/Spock from "Star Trek." I felt the Guardians were a bit absent until the very end. So I guess, in conclusion, I just needed a bit more going on in the book, because it was mostly flashback. And I kind of missed Pitch as well. He is the villain after all, but it was still nice to learn his tragic past to explain why he is the way that he is.

Definitely can't wait for the next book in the series. I think I read a long time ago that the next book would be focused on Jack Frost (or Nightlight, I think is what William Joyce is implying). And I think it might also be the final book. A little perplexing that the first 4 books were released fairly close to one another and there's a large gap between books 4 and 5. So hopefully the series is concluded soon.

[Snow]

Fortunately it took me way less time to read this book, which makes me one step closer to completing the Guardian of Childhood series. I liked how much darker this book is, with Lady Pitchiner ending her own life to spare herself from the eternal agony of being enslaved by dream pirates and Pitch going on a grief-filled murderous rampage, just to name a few. I'm not the biggest fan of certain story elements in this, for instance, I am incredibly disappointed by the resolution of Katherine's rescue, as I had hoped Nightlight would offer her a kiss on the forehead instead of a kiss on the lips (who tf gives a good night kiss on the lips?? this is so heteronormativity at its works. The unconscious to awakening true love's kiss is soooo out of fashion). I don't necessarily dislike the concept of Nightherine, but I also just wish that for once I could enjoy a good heteroplatonic relationship, which they have been for the past couple of books. Let's just hope it stays that way in the final book as well. But regardless, I enjoyed the story immensely, especially the entire middle section flashback thing with the black pages and white text (Sandy's Morpheus moment haha) telling the tales of Sandy and Mother Nature's past. Their connection makes the story very interesting and also expands the universe to beyond the stars and galaxies.

This book was released after the movie came out, and it is evident that the movie inspired a lot of the elements in this one. You can find traces of the film sprinkled throughout the book, and it makes me so nostalgic just by reading it. I don't consider the film and the books to be in the same universe, but it does seem like the Guardians are on their way to where they were in the film, and they behave much more similarly to their film counterparts here. This is one of those rare instances where the adaption influences its source material because the original work was yet to be completed. I adore them both and I can't wait to meet Jack in the next one!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was almost as perfect as Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King. I've been trying to figure out how to describe this series but I think the title of the first chapter does it best:

The Dreams That Stuff is Made Of

I love it! Also, why is E. Aster me trying to function as a normal human being?

Humor is a mental activity and it has nothing to do with the skeletal system. To claim so is complete nonsense!

Like, honestly same.

[Karina Jaqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

“El tiempo pasa de forma extraña cuando duermes”.

Hasta ahorita es el libro que menos me ha gustado de la saga, y es una pena porque Sandy no tiene la culpa de eso JAJAJA. En realidad ningún personaje sufre de una caída o algo, solamente fue el único de los 4 que he leído que me dejó un saber de: “meh, ¿y luego?”. Tiene MUCHA magia, y la incorporación de nuevos personajes, así como el desarrollo de los ya conocidos, es sin duda increíble y merecida de aprecio; sin embargo, la historia me pareció no lo suficientemente buena a comparación de su antecesora. Eso no quita que si sea un buen libro c:

4/5⭐️

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta entrega es la mejor hasta ahora, llena de emociones sin parar por fin conocemos la historia de Sombra y la razón de su locura, también sabremos que sombra en realidad es un formidable personaje con planes grandiosos, terribles, pero en realidad impresionantes. Se introduce un guardián desde la era dora Sandy con grandiosos poderes sobre los sueños y una peculiar historia. Norte empieza a engordar y ciertos eventos en polo nos acercan más y más al clímax de la historia.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth book suffers from a middle book syndrome. I mean, it's the penultimate book of the saga and it definitely feels it as there is quite a bit of exposition dumping to set up the coming war and conclusion. Despite being about the introduction of Sanderson Mansnoozie to the Guardians line up, there is extensive background on Emily Jane, Pitch's daughter and her development into Mother Nature. Very interesting but the actual continuation of the story and the rescue of Katherine is all saved for the last quarter of the book. Hardly moves the over-arching story forward.

[Sisis Cálix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno este si estuvo un poco extraño porque se supone que es el libro de Sandy pero el casi no sale, la historia continúa con el. secuestro de Katherine y solo de eso va. lo sentí presurizado y corto los anteriores (en especial de Toothiana) han sido tan interesantes y entretenidos y habiendo amado tanto la historia de origen de Sandy, este definitivamente me queda debiendo. No me mal entiendan es una historia excelente y entretenido pero siento que este tomo estuvo muy cortito.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Está saga cada vez se pone mejor,cada historia de origen de los personajes y como se entrelazan y las emociones que te brindan son vividas qué te hacen emocionar, alegrar y preocuparte por ellos, todos los niños y no tan niños deberían conocer está hermosa historia

[Julianne S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this one - it has some truly beautiful writing and imagery, and some of the best illustrations yet. There are some pretty big reveals here, and it feels like he’s starting to seriously weave together the clues he’s been planting and the storylines he’s been setting up, in preparation for what should be an amazing final book. I’ve come to love these characters a lot and am very excited to see where it’s all been leading.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely my favorite children’s series. Just beautiful. 5 stars.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness The story is flying. The story was the best by far since the first book by introducing the featured character right up front. The Dark pages were a real treat!

[Selene Gudino · Rating 5 out of 5]

4to libro de la Saga de los Guardianes y esto cada vez se pone mejor!
Katherine está en peligro y Luz Nocturna acude en su ayuda, acompañado de el hombre de los sueños.
Aventuras, recuerdos, promesas y mucho más te espera en este libro.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book enjoyed by Sterling and me

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro es demasiado hermoso, amo todo y es, hasta el momento, el que más me ha gustado de la saga. <3

[effa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the series so far!