THE DREAM JAR

Big sister offers nightmare-ridden little sister a coping strategy in this relentlessly girly debut for Johnson. Just turn that Bad Dream into a “Dreamy Dream,” she counsels her terrified sibling—either by recasting those scary sea monsters into silly ones, or by reaching into a bedside Dream Jar for a written suggestion: “You have a magic wand—Use it!” Curly text with occasional words in pink or purple mingles with floaty scenes of nightgown-clad urchins with flyaway hair capering amid twinkly stars. Next to Julia Durango’s boy-centered take on the theme, Dream Hop (Sept. 2005), illustrated by Jared Lee, this “Fabulously Fun” flit comes off as decidedly chick-lit–ish—but also more optimistic about the effectiveness of its suggested techniques. (Picture book. 6-8)