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Sweet Valley Kids #42
Jessica's Monster Nightmare
Frightening dreams about a monster are keeping Jessica awake all night. The kids at school tease her when they hear she's having bad dreams, and that just makes her nightmares worse! How can Jessica get rid of the monster in her dreams so she can sleep again?
- GenresChildrens
74 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,147 books1,851 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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September 1, 2025Jessica’s Monster Nightmare
Mr. Wakefield closes the book after reading the twins a fairy tale. Jessica didn’t like the story and calls it creepy. Mr. Wakefield says they can read a happy one tomorrow. After her father leaves the room, Jessica switches the light back on. Liz asks her what’s up and she says she just wants to read. Liz isn’t buying this since the book she picked up is hers and Jessica doesn’t read her books. Liz asks when she’s done with the chapter can she turn off the lights. Jessica then confesses that the story their dad read made her scared. It made her think of a monster she saw in a picture book at Mrs. Taylor’s house.
Jessica also saw a horror movie with Steven the other night and it gave her a horrible nightmare. She says she never wants to go to sleep again. Liz points out that she can’t stay awake forever and there are no such things as monsters. Jessica isn’t convinced. Liz tells her she can wake her up if she starts to have a bad dream. Jessica reluctantly tells her ok. Liz says she’ll turn out the lights when she’s ready. Jessica says she’s ready.
Jessica think I just won’t fall asleep so she tries to think of nice things like her favorite colors, kittens, puppies, ducklings, and bunnies, lambs, baby otters, and lion cubs. This is what she dreams (from the book). She’s chasing three adorable lion cubs around a playground. One of them crawled through a hole in a wall, and Jessica knew she had to get it. She crawled in on her hands and knees and found herself in a dark, spooky tunnel. The lion cub was nowhere to be seen. Quickly she turned around and around, looking for a way out. Then she heard a low growl.
Jessica was certain it wasn't the lion cub. It was a monster. Again, she looked for a way to get out. The ground was beginning to shake, and the monster's growl sounded nastier than ever. Jessica began to run, holding out her hands in case she hit something in the dark. But no matter how hard she ran, she never seemed to get anywhere. The monster was chasing her, getting closer with every second. he looked back over her shoulder, and then--there it was!
The monster filled up the whole tunnel behind her. It was so big that its giant head touched the ceiling. Each one of its three eyes looked in a different direction, trying to find her. Jessica was so terror-stricken that she couldn't move. In a moment it would see her. Jessica screamed and waved her arms wildly--and sat straight up in bed. Liz asks her what’s wrong and she tells Liz the dream and says she’s scared that next time the monster will eat her. Liz says then he’ll have to eat her too. She’ll go in with her next time, which makes Jessica feel better. UMMM!!!
The next day at school, Jessica is yawning and Liz tells the girls she’s having monster dreams. This gets the attention of the boys who start to tease her. Liz apologizes and says “it was an accident”. Mrs. Otis comes in and makes an announcement that for Parent- Teacher Night the school is going to have a poster contest and with one poster from each classroom to be chosen for the entrance display. They’ll spend time working on the designs tomorrow. Liz says it should be fun. Jessica says she doesn’t care.
Jessica is watching a game show, but Steven switches the channel to a show about aliens. Liz tells Steven to turn the channel because Jessica’s been having monster dreams. Jessica snaps at her to stop telling everyone. Steven starts to tease her. Ned and Alice tell Steve to cut it out and Jessica that she’s safe and that bad dreams can’t hurt us. It’s all in our imagination. Jessica starts to get sleepy so they send her up to bed. They come in and turn the lights off. Jessica starts to drift off and think nice thoughts. Then someone ROARS but it turns out to be Steven messing around. Mr. Wakefield comes up and tells him he’ll have a talk with him.
She tells her dad she’s not afraid when he asks if she wants to sleep with the night light on, but she knows the monster will come. Jessica has the dream again and Liz tells her a story and holds her hand until she goes to sleep. In class the boys draw scary monsters on their posters and they tease Jessica to draw a picture of her monster.
Its shape was a similar to a bears, and it took up almost the whole poster board. Three eyes stared out from its huge head, and it had long, jagged fangs for teeth. Its hands were raised up as though to catch someone with its sharp claws. The body was covered with scales, and it had a thin, ratlike, pointed tail. All the other kids agree that if they dreamed what she drew they’d be scared too. Mrs. Otis calls Jessica to her desk and Liz sees them talking. Liz finds out Mrs. Otis sent her to the office to take a nap. She’s never seen her so tired. Liz tells Mrs. Otis about Jessica not sleeping because of the nightmares.
Mrs. Otis comes up with the idea to draw soap bubbles coming out of the monsters ears to make it not so scary. Then one by one they all add something. First Andy drew round glasses for the three eyes. Then Lila added high-heeled blue and pink polka-dotted shoes. Next Eva put a large, swirly peppermint lollipop in one of the hands. Ken drew a baseball cap with a peace sign on the front. For the final touch Mrs. Otis puts pink nail polish on the monster’s claws. When they’re done, they agree no one can be scared of it now. Jessica comes back from the nurse’s office and they all show her the poser.
Because of Steven (who thinks she should name the monster something silly) she gives It the name Toodle-loo Tinkertops. That night, she doesn’t dream of the monster and she’s no longer afraid of the dark. Mrs. Otis tells them they’re poster of Jessica’s monster got picked for the Parent- Teacher meeting and that it was a team effort.
Rating: 5 I didn’t have a ton of thoughts for this one. I just thought it was a good idea to turn the monster into something silly. Actually it reminded me of what Lupin did with he taught the class “Riddiculoso?” and had the things they feared coming out of the wardrobe and thinking of the silliest thing they could to turn their fears into.
Mr. Wakefield closes the book after reading the twins a fairy tale. Jessica didn’t like the story and calls it creepy. Mr. Wakefield says they can read a happy one tomorrow. After her father leaves the room, Jessica switches the light back on. Liz asks her what’s up and she says she just wants to read. Liz isn’t buying this since the book she picked up is hers and Jessica doesn’t read her books. Liz asks when she’s done with the chapter can she turn off the lights. Jessica then confesses that the story their dad read made her scared. It made her think of a monster she saw in a picture book at Mrs. Taylor’s house.
Jessica also saw a horror movie with Steven the other night and it gave her a horrible nightmare. She says she never wants to go to sleep again. Liz points out that she can’t stay awake forever and there are no such things as monsters. Jessica isn’t convinced. Liz tells her she can wake her up if she starts to have a bad dream. Jessica reluctantly tells her ok. Liz says she’ll turn out the lights when she’s ready. Jessica says she’s ready.
Jessica think I just won’t fall asleep so she tries to think of nice things like her favorite colors, kittens, puppies, ducklings, and bunnies, lambs, baby otters, and lion cubs. This is what she dreams (from the book). She’s chasing three adorable lion cubs around a playground. One of them crawled through a hole in a wall, and Jessica knew she had to get it. She crawled in on her hands and knees and found herself in a dark, spooky tunnel. The lion cub was nowhere to be seen. Quickly she turned around and around, looking for a way out. Then she heard a low growl.
Jessica was certain it wasn't the lion cub. It was a monster. Again, she looked for a way to get out. The ground was beginning to shake, and the monster's growl sounded nastier than ever. Jessica began to run, holding out her hands in case she hit something in the dark. But no matter how hard she ran, she never seemed to get anywhere. The monster was chasing her, getting closer with every second. he looked back over her shoulder, and then--there it was!
The monster filled up the whole tunnel behind her. It was so big that its giant head touched the ceiling. Each one of its three eyes looked in a different direction, trying to find her. Jessica was so terror-stricken that she couldn't move. In a moment it would see her. Jessica screamed and waved her arms wildly--and sat straight up in bed. Liz asks her what’s wrong and she tells Liz the dream and says she’s scared that next time the monster will eat her. Liz says then he’ll have to eat her too. She’ll go in with her next time, which makes Jessica feel better. UMMM!!!
The next day at school, Jessica is yawning and Liz tells the girls she’s having monster dreams. This gets the attention of the boys who start to tease her. Liz apologizes and says “it was an accident”. Mrs. Otis comes in and makes an announcement that for Parent- Teacher Night the school is going to have a poster contest and with one poster from each classroom to be chosen for the entrance display. They’ll spend time working on the designs tomorrow. Liz says it should be fun. Jessica says she doesn’t care.
Jessica is watching a game show, but Steven switches the channel to a show about aliens. Liz tells Steven to turn the channel because Jessica’s been having monster dreams. Jessica snaps at her to stop telling everyone. Steven starts to tease her. Ned and Alice tell Steve to cut it out and Jessica that she’s safe and that bad dreams can’t hurt us. It’s all in our imagination. Jessica starts to get sleepy so they send her up to bed. They come in and turn the lights off. Jessica starts to drift off and think nice thoughts. Then someone ROARS but it turns out to be Steven messing around. Mr. Wakefield comes up and tells him he’ll have a talk with him.
She tells her dad she’s not afraid when he asks if she wants to sleep with the night light on, but she knows the monster will come. Jessica has the dream again and Liz tells her a story and holds her hand until she goes to sleep. In class the boys draw scary monsters on their posters and they tease Jessica to draw a picture of her monster.
Its shape was a similar to a bears, and it took up almost the whole poster board. Three eyes stared out from its huge head, and it had long, jagged fangs for teeth. Its hands were raised up as though to catch someone with its sharp claws. The body was covered with scales, and it had a thin, ratlike, pointed tail. All the other kids agree that if they dreamed what she drew they’d be scared too. Mrs. Otis calls Jessica to her desk and Liz sees them talking. Liz finds out Mrs. Otis sent her to the office to take a nap. She’s never seen her so tired. Liz tells Mrs. Otis about Jessica not sleeping because of the nightmares.
Mrs. Otis comes up with the idea to draw soap bubbles coming out of the monsters ears to make it not so scary. Then one by one they all add something. First Andy drew round glasses for the three eyes. Then Lila added high-heeled blue and pink polka-dotted shoes. Next Eva put a large, swirly peppermint lollipop in one of the hands. Ken drew a baseball cap with a peace sign on the front. For the final touch Mrs. Otis puts pink nail polish on the monster’s claws. When they’re done, they agree no one can be scared of it now. Jessica comes back from the nurse’s office and they all show her the poser.
Because of Steven (who thinks she should name the monster something silly) she gives It the name Toodle-loo Tinkertops. That night, she doesn’t dream of the monster and she’s no longer afraid of the dark. Mrs. Otis tells them they’re poster of Jessica’s monster got picked for the Parent- Teacher meeting and that it was a team effort.
Rating: 5 I didn’t have a ton of thoughts for this one. I just thought it was a good idea to turn the monster into something silly. Actually it reminded me of what Lupin did with he taught the class “Riddiculoso?” and had the things they feared coming out of the wardrobe and thinking of the silliest thing they could to turn their fears into.
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January 9, 2023An entertaining and realistic story that would be genuinely helpful to readers who had nightmare monsters of their own. I particularly appreciated the fact that the nightmares were depicted as being truly scary and not just something Jess could conquer through courage alone.
July 26, 2012
I liked how the class helped Jessica overcome her nightmares by each person drawing dorky articles of clothing on the monster Jessica drew. I wish all my nightmares were so easily fixed!
October 20, 2024
Little Jessica is so cute!
January 24, 2025
It was an okay book
December 5, 2021
Poor Jessica is having horrible nightmares about a monster and is too scared to sleep at night. She’s tired at school, and Liz makes the mistake of letting slip Jess is having nightmares, which promptly gets her teased. Liz also lets slip in front of Steven, who wakes Jess up wearing a monster mask. Jerk. Anyway, Liz and her parents try to help but it doesn’t work. At school all the kids are drawing posters for Parents night, and teasing Jess. She decided to show them how scary the monster is (pic 2), and they all stop teasing her. When Jess falls asleep at her desk, Mrs Otis sends her to the nurses office. Liz explains the nightmares, and Mrs O has a great (somewhat Harry Potter) idea. The class start drawing ridiculous things on the poster (pic 3) to make it less scary. It works! That night, Steven (feeling bad) suggests a silly name for the monster, and they finally decide on Toodle-loo Tinkertops. Jessica’s nightmares are gone! The next day Mrs O tells them the monster poster was chosen for parents night because it was a class collaboration.
My rating - 5/10 - this one was great, and definitely some ideas I’ll be using with my kids!
My rating - 5/10 - this one was great, and definitely some ideas I’ll be using with my kids!
June 22, 2013
as twins they comfort each other.
May 5, 2013
one of my favorites when i was a kid :)
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