Welcome to 2025 PICTURE BOOK CLUB – WEEK THREE
How to participate in 2025 Picture Book Club …
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Get the suggested books from your library or bookstore (local or online). See PICTURE BOOK CLUB BOOK LIST for the complete list of books for each week.
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Before reading each of the weekly books to your child, READ FIRST “What Adults Can Learn from This Story.”
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Read one or both books to your child as many times through the week as your child wants to hear them and you have time to read.
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Consider doing whatever activities you think are appropriate for the age and maturity of your child from “Make This Story Come Alive for Your Child.”
- WE WELCOME FEEDBACK ABOUT YOUR PARTICIPATION. YOU CAN LEAVE A COMMENT BY USING THE “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.
THE DREAM JAR by Lindan Lee Johnson
(a story about overcoming fear)
Two sisters share their bedroom. Little sister depends on big sister to help her go to sleep even when monsters and other scary things are keeping her awake. She becomes beside herself when big sister plans to be away for an overnight with a friend, so big sister passes on her special sleep secrets. She teaches little sister how to keep bad dreams away, replace them with happy Dreamy Dreams, and how to use a Dream Jar to gain power over bad dreams.
What Adults Can Learn from This Story
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Children can use their imaginations to re-think, re-create, and rewrite a bad dream. They can turn the dream into a fun, safe, comforting dream instead. The monsters can be anything the child can think of that would be the opposite of scary. For example, imagining the monsters as though they were teeny tiny, toothless, furry, and cuddly, or so sleepy they can’t wake up no matter how hard they try. Young children will need adult suggestions about things that would make monsters funny or lovable. Adults can describe these new monsters in ways that will create funny or “lovey” pictures in the child’s mind. They can encourage children to make up their own stories or dream about the new “unscary”monsters.
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It is important to keep things real with children. In the end, children need to understand that no monsters are real. They are pretend – both the scary ones and their re-created funny or “lovey” ones. Adults can say, “Why don’t you pretend and dream up a funny monster instead.” They can say, “Monsters are not real, so you can make them be any way you want them to be. Let’s try making them cuddly.” Luckily, even children with wonderful imaginations can learn what things are real and what things are pretend.
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Chasing bad monsters out of the bedroom, spraying magic potions, or casting a spell on them tells children that adults believe the monsters are real – just as children fear they are. It says they need to protected from real monsters. Why else would adults be trying to slay a monster in the middle of the night? On the other hand, firmly saying that monsters are only pretend and can’t really be in a house or under a bed helps children understand that there is a difference between pretend and real. It clearly says that monsters are only pretend, not real, and therefore don’t need to be slayed, poisoned, or thrown out the window.
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What children are feeling about monsters is real, and they need to know adults believe that they are afraid. The monster under the bed is about fear, so the way to help is to focus on that fear. Creating nice monsters are one way children can outsmart their fear. They can control the monster by making it as funny, cute, kind, or cuddly as they want.
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Children need ways to comfort themselves and put themselves to sleep at all ages. However, Dreamy Dreams and Dream Jars won’t work for babies. For babies to learn to put themselves to sleep, they need some time in their beds alone to discover ways to calm themselves down. They will likely cry – some more than others. Babies DO need to be responded to when they cry, but the key is how quickly to respond. Giving them some time to cry before adults respond gives them a chance to fall or fall back to sleep. When they can’t and adults respond, babies can connect their having called for help and the adult’s arrival. They learn they can depend on adults for help. Responding at the first whimpers is like responding before babies have a chance to finish their sentences. Think of those first, early cries as them trying to figure out what is wrong and what they want to do about it. Give them a chance to figure that out. Bottom line: Adults know their babies best. They can decide what amount of crying time and what intensity of crying is reasonable. They just need to be sure that the sleeping arrangements are safe and that they are always nearby listening for any unusual sounds that would alert them to go in the room to check on things. See “Decisions Babies Make.”
Make this Story Come Alive for Your Child
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Talk with your child about monsters being pretend and not real. Ask him how he feels when he thinks or dreams about a monster. Tell him you understand that his feelings might be feel scary. Tell him about Dreamy Dreams – ones that he creates himself using his imagination. Ask if he wants to try that and if so spend some time talking about or maybe drawing his funny, cute, kind, or cuddly monsters. Create some of your own right along with him. When done say how good it is that no monsters are real. They are all pretend.
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Create a Dream Jar filled with ideas your child can use to create her own unscary monsters and Dreamy Dreams. The Jar can be filled with notes about things that make your child happy and feel good – special places, things, or powers that she has fun with and enjoys thinking about. The Dream Jar notes can tell her how to deal with bad dreams. For example, a note might say “the power to disappear.”. When she pulls it out of the jar, she can create a Dreamy Dream in which she isn’t afraid because she can pretend to disappear when she needs to. An older child can fill the jar on her own. For a young child, you can make up the jar and the notes. You can read the notes to your child as needed when a bad dream happens.
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Ask your child, “What if you had a bad dream about big hairy monsters?” Then, ask how he could turn that into a Dreamy Dream. You can offer some examples like monsters who are teeny tiny, toothless, all furry and cuddly, so sleepy they can’t wake up no matter how hard they try, or monsters without legs that weeble-wobble on round behinds. Suggest he draw some pictures of these imaginary good and fun monsters. Tell him you will remind him of his pictures anytime he has a bad dream.
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Sit with your child, if he is old enough, and figure out two different things that he thinks would be relaxing for him. If your child is young, you can think of the things that you think will help your child relax. Assign one of the ways to each of the next two weeks and practice every day. Figure out if your child needs you to help him practice or not. For example, he will need help for a massage, but not necessarily for listening to music. At the end of each week, see whether the technique was helping him learn to relax. If so plan ways for him to continue to use the technique.
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Have your child finish the statement, “The thing my sister (or brother) does for me that I love is _______.” Talk about what your child says. Talk about how special it is to have someone you can depend on for special things. Give examples from your own life. Ask if it is OK to share what your child has said with his sister (or brother). Share it if you get permission.
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT by Jean Reidy
(a story about being the center of the universe)
A little boy discovers he has a whole universe at his fingertips – a big universe of star galaxies, a medium-size universe like his country, and his most personal universe of his bed and blanket.
What Adults Can Learn from This Story
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Children need to know that their world is big and that they can be in the very center of it with all its wonder and possibilities. Being the center of this huge universe will feed their imaginations. It will lead to wishes and dreams. It will be the source of mysteries and puzzles to solve.
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Children need to know that their world is small and that they can be safely wrapped up right in the comfy and cozy center of it. Being the center of this small universe will make them feel comfortable and safe. It will lead to their having the confidence to explore their world. It will be their source of discovery after discovery.
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A child needs to know he is the apple of someone’s eye – that he is right in the center of someone else’s universe. This will make him feel loved and appreciated. It will lead to trust in the world, other people, and himself. It will be the source of his knowing how to love and be loved.
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There are some dangers to being the center of a universe.
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Too much time and attention – so much so that children are making decisions they are not ready for – decisions adults need to make.
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Too many things – so much so that children aren’t learning what is enough, are never satisfied, and don’t really know how to enjoy things.
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Not enough rules and too many privileges – so much so that children are unsure of themselves, not learning to take care of themselves, and depending on someone to save them from their own mistakes.
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Not enough consequences – so much so that children have trouble making up for the things they do wrong and find ways to feel OK about themselves.
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Having too much means never having enough.
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No matter how much kids protest, consequences are necessary.
Make this Story Come Alive for Your Child
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Have your child talk with you about his universes. Ask which universe he likes the best right now and why?
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Have your child draw pictures of her universes.
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Tell your child he is the apple of your eye. Ask him what he thinks that means? Ask what it’s like to be the apple of someone’s eye? Who is the apple of his eye? Have him draw a picture, make up a dance or song, or make a sculpture out of play dough about being the apple of someone’s eye.
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Ask your child what it means to have enough ice cream or toys or time watching TV or playing video games. What does “enough” mean? How does she know when she has enough?
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Share a time that you made amends when you hurt someone, even if the incident was an accident.
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Ask your child if he remembers a time when he hurt someone, even if it wasn’t on purpose. Talk about how he made up for that at the time or brainstorm with him now how he could have made up for it. Ask him how he thinks the person felt or would feel if he did make amends.
Picture Book Parenting 
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