The Dream Master

Cy is having an exciting dream about Ancient Egypt. He is galloping across the desert on a black Arab stallion, desperate to save the life of an Egyptian boy who is about to be executed. Then Cy's horse stumbles. He can hear the boy's cries of help but the desert sand is dissolving into dust... like the dream itself. To his annoyance, Cy wakes up. But then he meets the short-tempered Dream Master and discovers that he really can return to his dreams. Moving between dream time and real time creates problems, particularly when Aten, the Ancient Egyptian boy whose life he saved, travels back with him to the waking world. Cy manages to pass off Aten as one of his Mum's foreign exchange students and takes him to school, where Aten provides expert advice on the Egyptian project that Cy's class are working on. He is also able to help Cy with his writing problems, introducing him to the Egyptian Letter Learner and showing him the value of writing. 'Across time and space, with writing, we are able to meet the minds of others,' Aten tells him. There are other advantages to Cy's new skill too - Eddie and Chloe, the school bullies, are sucked into one of Cy's dreams and turn into crocodiles! This entertaining, informative and often witty novel is an exhilarating story for competent young readers. Ages 8-10 (Kirkus UK)