This is probably one of my favourite books by Lowry.

Littlest is a tiny, wispy dreamgiver who is newly-paired with Thin Elderly to train how to give dreams. Lowry makes sense of the randomization of dreams - dreamgivers "touch" various things in our homes to give us good dreams. Littlest quickly becomes known for her "Gossamer" touch.

The portrayal was a little fuzzy, but I think this was intentional on Lowry's part. It's a lovely explanation of where dreams may come from.

Lowry's writing is spot on in this book–every word counts when writing for children, and this is something she understands. Through her use of third person omniscient (which can often make or break a book, IMHO), even though the book is about Littlest and Eldest, we learn to love John (the boy), the unnamed older woman (the foster parent), and the mom (working hard to get her son back) ,and we feel like we know them all intimately, even though we don't learn the names of the human adults. This is powerful.

Lowry can bring you to tears and laugh in the same sentence. Many of her themes revolve around human connection, and this story all the more shows the importance of connection amidst all kinds of brokenness. We all need good dreams to fight away the nightmares. We all need hope and courage in the midst of waking nightmares.

This would be a great book to read aloud or to read with a grandchild/grandparent combo.

This book made me wonder more about Lowry's life. I'm not much of a biography person, but I need to read more interviews and info about her.

Pairings: not sure yet.