The Sandman

by Ralph Fletcher, Richard Cowdrey (Illustrator)

Where did that little piece of sand in the corner of your eye come from? That’s easy—the Sandman.
 
It all started a long time ago when a tiny man named Tor discovered that a dragon’s scale held magical powers. Ground dragon scales make magic sand that Tor sprinkles in the eyes of children to help them fall asleep. But how does he get the scales to make the special sand? He has to venture into the lair of a dragon, and that’s no easy feat!

This imaginative telling of the legend of the Sandman combined with fantastical, illuminating pictures will be enjoyed by the whole family.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Dragons, Animals, Writing

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2008

About the author

Ralph Fletcher is a friend of young writers and readers as well as writing teachers. He has written or co-authored many books for writing teachers includng Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Lessons for the Writer's Notebook, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, and Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing. Ralph has worked with teachers around the U.S. and abroad, helping them find wiser ways of teaching writing.

Ralph's many books for students include picture books (Twilight Comes Twice, Hello Harvest Moon, and The Sandman), novels (Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, and Spider Boy), poetry (A Writing Kind of Day and Moving Day), and a memoir, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid. His novel Uncle Daddy was awarded the Christopher medal in 2002. He has also written a popular series of books for young writers including Poetry Matters, Live Writing, and A Writer's Notebook. Ralph lives with his family in New Hampshire. He is a strong environmentalist who believes we all must work together to live in a more sustainable way. His other passions include travel, good food, dark chocolate, growing orchids, and sports.

Reviews

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pictured him... taller.

[Ashley Cernac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this book for any age! I enjoyed the part of the nvoel where the Sandman would turn Dragon's Scales into dust, and magically placed the scales on childrens eyes who could not sleep. Overall, the book was cute, and I will keep this book in my classroom library.
The book itself is a fairytale based on the way the author portrayed the man. Author the Sandman was a person, he was no bigger than a mouse. There were also other mythical creatures that appeard in the novel as well. The use of magic alone makes this book a fairytale.

[Lara's · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis : A tiny, sleepless man discovers that sand made from a dragon's scale will send him to dreamland and begins carrying this magical sand to children each evening to give them the gift of sleep.
Review : When I first picked up this fantasy book I was very charmed by the idea that the tiny piece of sand found in the corner of your eye in the morning came from the Sandman. What a wonderful, clever beginning to this story. The illustrations by Richard Crowdery are fantastic and bring to life this impish little man's world with the use of a thimble as drinking glass, a soup ladle as a bathtub, a spool of thread as a table, etc. The animals of the forest are large and great for children to name off as their parents read the story.
The story is about the Sandman (TOR) who is suffering from sleep deprivation, he finds a dragons scale on the forest floor one day. One side is rough so he files it down in his workshop. While filing TOR discovers that the dust makes him sleepy. When he wakes up he decides to give the gift of sleep to children by sprinkling the "magic sand" on their eyes at night. The true excitement of the story comes when TOR runs out of the magical sand and has to return to the dragon's lair for more scales. Again, the illustrations of the dragon are great (kind of scary for little, little ones) but, very powerful and full of color. As is explained, dragons live forever so there is no concern of running out of scales. Parents might be stuck with answering how TOR manages to stay awake, sanding down the scales in his workshop though...special dragon scale face filter?
On a darker note, I felt a little tinge of sadness reading this book. I want the very sweet idea of this story to overpower my darker impressions that unfolded. However, there are some aspects of this story that I cannot help but be a little concerned with--(which is most likely due to my recent viewing of the Oprah show speaking about people who use sleeping medication to harm children). Basically, you have an sweet adult who gives children "special magical sand" to help them go to sleep. I'd like to ignore the darker implications but, felt it should be mentioned. I'm sure there are a million books which -in the wrong hands-could be turned into something unsavory.
Critical Reviews :
School Library Journal This review mirrors most of my initial positive impressions of this story with a hearty nod to the wonderful little details that make up the illustrations.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tor finds a dragon scale on the ground and brings it home to shape it into something special. When he realizes that the dust from the scale can make people fall asleep, will he use his power for good?

A unique version of the Sandman's beginning. I love dragons and I thought using the scale was a great twist that worked really well. I also thought the mouse-drawn carriage was a perfect fit.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

As noted by the publisher:

"Where did that little piece of sand in the corner of your eye come from? That’s easy—the Sandman."

Thus begins a very believable story about how the Sandman got started helping humans. From there the tale takes off, beautifully written.

Now you know how the Sandman lives. During the day
he's in his workshop,
grinding a dragon scale with
a special metal tool,
making a pile of magic sand.

Such a delightful story, it's also exceptionally well written. And the impact can help children feel safer in life. Since this wonderful Sandman will be looking out for them, protecting them whenever he's needed.

Goodreaders, note: Besides giving this book FIVE STARS, I'm shelving it under WRITING, as well as FICTION. To me, that Ralph Fletcher is an outstanding picture book writer.

[Billie White · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loved this book! She has trouble falling asleep, and she kept interjecting into the story that she hoped the Sandman would come visit her!

I was hesitant to check this book out because I wasn’t sure of the story (I’ve never heard it before) and I was afraid the verbiage would be hard to follow. It wasn’t at all!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Tor a little man who grinds the sand from a dragon's scale, and sprinkles the magic dust in the eyes of people, especially children, to help them sleep. A bold and daring story of how the sandman became who he is, and where and how that little piece of sand gets in your eye.

[Lauren Hay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about the sandman and how he came to be.

[Annie Jewell]

I thought this book was really good at explaining what the sandman is to small children and I think this would be a great story to read before bed time.

[Ashlyn Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good bedtime story for children but still allows them to use their imagination.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sandman uses a dragon scale that he grinds into powder to give dreams to children who can't sleep.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book - and quite relevant, since kiddo has trouble sleeping sometimes.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good readalong with my six-year-old. Kept his interest without any background on the story or characters.

[Shannon Lionheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story with dragons.

Great for Bedtime.

[Laura Giessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember any legends surrounding the "Sandman", so I don't know if the idea of sanding a dragon scale is Fletcher's original, but I like it! The illustrations are fantastic, and I loved seeing all the little objects that the inches-tall Sandman and the mouse used for daily living--bathing in a ladle, sleeping in a jar lid, a postage stamp for wall art, drinking from a thimble, etc. The details in many of the illustrations were so right on and delightful--the eyes and expression on the girl who couldn't sleep, the sand scattered by the Sandman, the fire coming out of the dragon's mouth, etc. I am familiar with Fletcher as a writing teacher, and if I were going through the revision process with him, I would have asked how the mouse knew who to visit. I also thought there was potential to tie together the dragon's stretch before going to sleep and what happened to the children when the sand hit them, using some kind of repeated phrase or jingle. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and can imagine it being a book that is reread.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tiny little man stumbles upon a magical dragon scale that puts people into a deep and refreshing sleep. Wanting to help others, the Sandman, who is the size of a thimble, goes around town sprinkling magic sand on the eyes of children who can’t sleep. When the dragon scale runs out he goes on a quest to the dragon’s lair to fetch another one. See if he succeeds on his dangerous journey.

The illustrations and writing in this book are fantastic! I can read it over and over and not get sick of it. The tension mounts as the Sandman waits for the dragon to return. I like how Fletcher uses repetition such as, He waited…” , at the climax to make the moment more dramatic and scary. The students really enjoy this book. Make sure you read the dedication page. It’s funny.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the Sandman. He started out as a tiny man with insomnia, but when he found a dragon scale, filed it down into sand, and that sand blew into his eyes and put him to sleep immediately--well, he found his vocation. He knew how horrible it was not to be able to sleep, so he wanted to help others, especially children, fall asleep easily. Now he spends his time fetching dragon scales, filing them down, and dleivering them to children who can't sleep.

The illustrations are fantastic and epic, the story is sweet and imaginative, and I really enjoyed this book.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of children's books to my boys--so many that I don't usually put them on goodreads, but I'll make an exception here. My five year old has a hard time falling asleep most nights, so I looked around on amazon for a book that might help. I found this book and we love it. Such a charming, well illustrated story, and it even has a dragon! We have already read it six times today, and I know we will continue to read it again and again. I can't say yet if it help him in any way falling asleep, but it's certainly a fun read.

[Shannon Janik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I have heard of the Sandman before, but I never knew the actual story. The pictures were great and the story was told even better. The story was not too long so if you were reading this to an antsy child he would not get distracted. It was easy to get excited about this book because of all the great colors and the words on the page were nice and big and easy to read. The pictures did such a great job in aiding this quirky story. It was fun to read and I'd love to read it to any one of the children I babysit for.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a tiny little man who found a dragon scale and unlocked its magical potential. Who knew that the dust from a ground up dragon scale could put people to sleep? Each night, the Sandman, accompanied by his mouse friend, travel the land helping children fall asleep. The rich, fully colored illustrations done in acrylic paint are beautiful works of art complementing the text and smaller, brown and white illustrations. This would be a good book for bedtime, especially for a child that needs extra help falling asleep.

[Linda Branich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found that my 6 and 8 year old grandchildren can use computers and Leap pads, but had never heard of the Sandman! As I read this book to them, their attention was captured the entire time. They LOVED the colorful and detailed illustrations. This was a new version of the story of the SANDMAN to me, so I CONFESS, I thoroughly enjoyed the book from cover to cover as well. Ralph Fletcher ( author AND Richard Cowdrey ( illustrator) did a superb job on this book. I intend to look for more of their work.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked some of the art, but didn't find the story all that intriguing. Then again, I'm not an infant any longer. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to teach kids that little men who come into their bedrooms at night aren't up to no good. Just kidding. Mostly.

If only this were a Gaiman Sandman picture-book!

[Esme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute pictures, uninspiring text. I found this book unpleasantly whimsical. Now, normally I like whimsical, but with this book I felt like the author put together a bunch of cutesy images and fantastical ideas without rhyme nor reason to recreate the Sandman story when it didn't need recreating. Even if I weren't bothered with the story ideas, the text itself--syntax, diction--was just boring.

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet tale about a man who discovered the secret to sleep - ground dragon scales. He quickly determines to help boys and girls everywhere fall asleep at night with the same magical dust that helped him.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another book rated 5 stars by Tiffany. I just got it, and had to laugh - this is a little kids book of how the sandman came to be. Very cute story, read in less than 5 minutes. The pictures in the book are also very cute.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the three books I read to my six-year-old son yesterday, I expected the least from this one. And this one delivered the most.

I love the origins of the Sandman's tale. I love the story of his source of sand. This charmingly illustrated book reads like a near-perfect modern fairy tale.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle story about bedtime.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Try this before you try Ambien.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about how the sandman came to be. It was really creative and the illustrations were really cute and colorful. This would be a fun read aloud for kids.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very creative story and I loved the illustrations.