"...A dream net for baby / like a small spiderweb / spun of nettle-stalk twine / stained dark red with the bark of wild plum..." hung by the Ojibway people of centuries ago on babies' cradleboards. Such a net might serve as a charm to catch "dark dreams...like flies in a spider's web" before a bad dream could reach a slumbering infant. Good dreams "drift through the hole in the center of the web: dreams of...white shells tinkling in the breeze / pheasant feathers ruffling / sucking maple sugar in a birchbark cone..." Young's decorative page borders pay tribute to the floral patterns of Ojibway artists and his images of clothing and other objects allude to this cultural history. Ojibway language references and names are accurate. The full-color illustrations were created in pastel for this 9 3/4 x 10 1/2" picture book. (Ages 4-9)

The Ojibway Indians wove dream nets--delicate circlets to capture nightmares and let only good dreams through. Osofsky weaves these beliefs into her story of an Ojibway baby long ago, who watches his family as they play and work, and, safe behind the dreamcatcher, drifts contentedly off to sleep. Full color.