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Gossamer (by Lois Lowry)

common sense media says

Abused kid gets otherworldly help; magical enough.


parents & educators say
  • 33% say violence is an issue
  • 33% say sexual content is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that while nothing is described graphically, there are clear references to child abuse.

Positive messages: A magical plot lines allows for the delicate discussion of nightmares and child abuse. 
Violence: A man hits his wife and child, pushes the child's face into the floor, and forces him to eat dog food.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: A video game console mentioned.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Adults smoke and drink.

More on Gossamer

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the role of happy and unhappy memories in prompting dreams and nightmares, and can also use the plot as a launching pad to discuss the concept of dreams. 
  • What purpose do dreams serve -- and can they strengthen you? 
  • What are some of the best and worst dreams you've ever had? 
  • Do you have any recurring dreams? 
  • What do you think they mean?

What's the story?

What's the story?
There are dream-givers, who haunt our homes each night, collecting scraps of memories from our belongings and then bestowing them on us as dreams. There are Sinisteeds, who are former dream givers turned dark, who inflict nightmares, and sometimes attack in Hordes.

And there is an angry boy, taken from an abusive home and placed in foster care with a lonely old woman. The old woman needs the strength to help the boy, his mother needs to pull her life together to get him back, and the boy has become the focus of a Horde. The only help available to any of them are a very young dream-giver-in-training and her elderly mentor.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
This is an oddly magical little story from the author of Number the Stars (about the Holocaust) and The Giver (about a dystopian society). But it's oddly compelling as well, and kids -- especially those having trouble with dreams and sleeping -- might be enchanted by the image of the sweet little dream-givers and their battles with Sinisteeds.

The juxtaposition of this sweetly reassuring part of the story with the serious abuse that the boy has endured is a bit jarring, though author Lois Lowry handles it delicately. Still, a child sensitive enough to revel in the dream-givers might need some adult explanation of how a father could do these kinds of things to his child.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books
Publication date: May 14, 2006
Number of pages: 140
Hardcover price: $16.00
Read Aloud: 9
Read Alone: 9

This review was written by Matt Berman
 
 

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What parents & educators say

17
Based on 3 parent & educator reviews:
  • 33% say violence is an issue
  • 33% say sexual content is an issue
  • 33% say language is an issue
  • 33% say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking
  • 33% say they noticed product placement

Most useful reviews by all members

Cherry*Bomb
teen, 17 years old
 
Fun, just don't do a report on it!
This book is pretty good, when I was in 6th grade, we did a book report on it. The book itself was very good, but the report made it tedious and dry, but I learned new things that I didn't know about the author and the inspiration of Gossamer.

elizabeth7059
kid, 10 years old
 
Gossamer is an awesome book!
Gossamer is a really good book but also a little bit sad. There are a few laughs in it. I really enjoyed it.

JustinBieber_JB
teen, 15 years old
 
I liked this book a lot. I thought it had a good message and had a very good ending. It is a short book so you can read it pretty fast.

mrjoelb
teen, 18 years old
 
Okay book.
The book was a little boring at first, in then end of the book i felt like i wanted to sleep and have a good dream. :)

ShiningMoon
teen, 16 years old
 
Not Magical, in a Fantasy Sense
I loved this book. Yeah, it's not extremely interesting or magical, but it's the idea that's good. I would've expected better from such an idea, and Lois Lowry.

wisher14
teen, 16 years old
 
enjoyable read for ages 8 - 14
Gossamer was a short book I enjoyed reading. The style of writing is interesting, switching from different points of view. It has a charming plot with an enjoyable, modest hero, and a subplot with deeper themes. Not exactly age-appropriate for a bedtime story for little ones, but a good read best for a 5th to 7th grader.

Zylence
teen, 15 years old
 
hmmmmmmm.......
This book reminds me of somethin I read in 3rd grade. I do not remember what it was called, but it had some of the same stuff. Ghostly dream- givers. In all, this book, in a certain way, is quite cute. Littlest One (Gossamer) reminds me of typical, never- stop- asking- questions children these days. Although it is partially sad, looking through the young mother's eyes, it is a pleasurable book, and I think, at least when you are in Elementary school, you should read it.

jjhadjihfdksabg
parent of 17 year old
 
bad bad book
i totally hate this book it sucks crap. It is the worst book i have ever read. every second was torture. i would rather kill my self than read this book again. F@#$ i really disliked this book

avery123
kid, 12 years old
 
i <3;lt;3 this book and the author itself her books are soo creative, she has a magnifisant imagintion! and i love how there is always a good ending with a mystery in the book!!!!!!

Poison Ivey
teen, 17 years old
 
pretty good, actually
it was a good book, in my opinion. I can't understand why common sense media only gave it three stars. I felt bad for the boys mom, because she loved her son and she really wanted him back. I would recommend this book to people nine and up.

dfgh
adult
 
the best book ever
this was a 5 star book

 
Gossamer
i would recommend this bok to ages 8-12 becasue it is a good story and it has a good moral. your child might need a little bit of help reding this book but they will like it if they are into fantasys.

PureBloodedHanyou
teen, 14 years old
 
This is a really good book! For practically anyone 10+
This book is very interesting. I was only in grade school when I read this book, but its very unique! The book has two sides, one is a dream giving being, and the family in which the dreams are given. Though this book isnt good for young children (due to the writing style and concepts of dreams, nightmares, prphans, and rules of regular day life) children in upper gradesall the way to middle school and higher would be able to grasp the meaning of this book and really enjoy it. This is a really good book!!!! READ!!!

harmonicaplayi ...
teen, 17 years old
 
It wasn't actually all that good.
It was your typical cliche' everything's alright in the end novel. I wouldn't recommend it, but you might like it.

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