Ship of Dreams

Joey #1

by Dean Morrissey

When Joey went to bed that night he was determined to stay awake so he could see the Sandman. His friend, Henry, said that he had seen the Sandman and Joey didn’t want to be left out. As he lay in bed, fighting to keep his eyes open, Joey imagined what meeting the Sandman would be like...

Dean Morrissey’s charming story follows Joey on his journey through the star-filled night to meet the Sandman, a voyage filled with excitement and delight. Joey sails off in his specially-adapted wagon, the Redd Rocket, on a flight of discovery followed step-by-step in Morrissey’s magically vivid realistic paintings. The boy's adventure, his exhilarating fall through the sky and heart-stopping rescue, his discovery of the Sandman’s amazing ship and the secrets contained aboard it, all add up to a bedtime experience that children of all ages will cherish again and again.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Juvenile, Storytime

38 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 1994

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

[Christine]

I will need to re-read this, to rate it. I remember buying it for my two youngest siblings long ago, and reading it to them. (We are 25 years apart.)

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, 5 diamond, 5 children!! We loved it!

[Punkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute take about the sandman.
Read aloud to kiddos.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and The Christmas Ship by Dean Morrissey are both amazing books. The artwork in this book is all original oil paintings on canvas. The illustrations are tremendous; you can look at them again and again and find new and interesting details. This is the story of young Joey. His friend claims he saw the sandman the night before. So Joey imagines how he would get to see the Sandman. He rides his Redd Rocket , and soon he is soaring off into space; he falls from the rocket and is caught in a strange net. Not only does he meet the Sandman but he starts to learn all of the Sandman's secrets. Wonderful tale, well told.

[Beorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations and a magical story! Always a wonderful read, especially right before bedtime!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story may not have done it for me, but the illustrations really are beautiful!

[Abby Peskin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a unique bedtime book. It’s a longer one, so it’d be best for kids who are a bit older and can hold their attention on a book longer. I imagine it’d be a good one to read often and would become a familiar story to fall asleep to at night. The boy in the story has heard about the sandman from his friend, so one night he imagines flying away in the sky to find him, only to find that he runs into him and gets to know him, hearing all about what the sandman does and how he puts people to sleep each night.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joey is determined to stay awake to catch a glimpse of the sandman after his friend Henry said that he saw him. Just as Joey was fighting sleep to stay awake something amazing happened. Joey finds himself on the Sandman's ship, and experiences a fantastic journey with many discoveries and untold secrets of how the Sandman gets things done.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made us look for others from this author, including The Christmas Ship. It is a great story about a little boy who falls into the net of the Sandman and comes aboard his ship of dreams. Such a great book!

[Michelle Farella · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have a picture of the cover of this book hanging in the children's library. I enjoyed reading the story associated it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and go perfect with the beautiful writing! Such a wonderful story about a boy and the sandman.

[Daleena Pray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so magical. The story is so sweet and the ending is so fun. The art is stand alone magnificent.

[Robert Ellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I read this tonight. Very good book! We loved the artwork!

[Jennifer White · Rating 3 out of 5]

AMAZING illustrations

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very nice book. A boy dreams that he meets the Sandman in his ship of dreams and learns about the stars. But is it a dream? The illustrations are very detailed and fun to study.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for children...of all ages. This is incredibly illustrated. The art work is mesmerizingly, stunningly beautiful.

Joey's friend Henry claims to have seen the sandman. Curious, Joey is determined to stay awake to see if he can have the same experience.

As Joey's eyes begin to close, he is magically transported to the sky of stars where he rides in a strange ship with billowing sails and a huge balloon keeping the contraption afloat.

Joey and the delightful, long-robed, bearded, jolly Sandman place stars in the sky and visit all the sleeping children of the world.

Highly recommended for the sheer delight of turning the pages!

I'm not counting this in my number of books read this year, but I am mentioning it because it is captivating and as magically illustrated and written as the concept of the sandman himself.

If you have a child, or a grandchild, or need to buy a present for a young person, this would be a lovely gift!

[Karl A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ship of Dreams is a great children’s book that can be enjoyed by all ages. The story is based around a young child called Joey who goes on an adventure and meets the sandman. The story follows Joey as he finds out what the sand man actually does on his flying ship.

There is a strong resemblance between the sandman and Father Christmas through the images and the way he is portrayed, which makes him a character that you instantly warm to.

Dean Morrissey brings the reader into the world of Joey’s exciting adventure using top story telling and some of the best illustrations seen in a children’s book,. The illustrations are magical and can tell the story by themselves.

I would recommend this book to young and old, this is a charming story which everyone should hear.

[Yasmin Gomez Geng]

First off, the artwork is ah-mazing. Dean Morrissey began as a children's illustrator, became an artist, and then wanted to connect some of his artwork with a story, which became this book.

Joey waits for the Sandman because his friend Henry told him that he had met the Sandman. Joey begins imaging what kind of supplies he would need in order to travel the world to meet the Sandman. Eventually, Joey meets the Sandman and learns all about what the Sandman does, such as putting children to sleep and putting up stars in the sky for every child born. In the end, Joey makes it back to his room and must decide whether his adventure really happened and who he will tell.

Grade: 3rd Grade - 5th Grade
Topics: Fantasy, Imagination, Legends/Myths/Tall Tales

[Tom Serafini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most striking thing about this book is the art. Morrissey renders his images in oil on canvas with a master hand at magical realism. The story, abut a little boy in search of the mythical Sandman, is fun and engaging.

This is your classic re-readable bedtime story. I've had this book since it's publication in 1994 and have read it several times. With every new pass I find something new in the paintings and the story still gets me every time.

[Peggy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous artwork.... so good in fact that it may actually outshine the story. Not that it's a bad story - it's not. It's just that with artwork like that you expect the story to be extraordinary as well. You get the feeling the story was written to showcase the artwork instead of the other way around.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very imaginative story about Mr. Sandman and how he spreads on the sand on the children every night to get them to sleep. It also tells how he makes his sand. The story is fabulous, but the pictures are what make this story wonderful. The pictures have sooo much detail and the coloring is brilliant. I would suggest you check this book out at your local library.

[Jamie Tedesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the imagination. Children have such wonderful imaginations and this story represents that very well. It really kind if reminded me of neverland and the story of Peter Pan and of course is the story of Santa clause due to the magic man I the sky; I liked this story with the ship and the sleeping sand much better.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous, gorgeous illustrations, and a magical adventure, but it just has far too many words for a child as young as mine. It would have been a better tale if it were condensed, but perhaps she will like it more when she's older. Age aside, though, I still think it's a little long winded.

[Kathleen Benoit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful bedtime book for children. This book has some of my favorite illustration as well. I would highly recommend it to any parents with young children. it even hold the attention of my 18 month old.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifull art and warm story.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork is amazing... pretty much the book that inspired that Voyage of the Star Grazer of mine.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book!

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love his artwork. Love, love it.