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2015 Nominee

Curse of the Dream Witch

Written by Allan Stratton.
Published in 2013 by Scholastic.

An exhilarating fairy tale adventure from the author of the Governor General’s Award nominated The Grave Robber’s Apprentice.

The Dream Witch haunts the forest beyond the kingdom of Bellumen, waiting to collect on a horrible debt owed by the king and queen — the heart of their only daughter, Princess Olivia. Until she has it, none of the kingdom’s children are safe.

As Olivia’s thirteenth birthday approaches and the witch’s deadline draws near, her desperate mother seeks help from Prince Leo of neighbouring Pretonia. But the treacherous prince seizes their castle instead, determined to marry Olivia and take over the kingdom.

So Olivia makes a daring escape from the castle, two friends by her side: the peasant boy Milo and a curious talking mouse with a surprising past. Together, the friends face certain danger and fantastical adversaries to save their families and rescue a kingdom.

 

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17 thoughts on “Curse of the Dream Witch

  1. St. Jerome

    This is a great book because it is very adventurous. It made me feel like I was in a different world and I couldn’t put the book down!

  2. St.Jerome

    This book has great suspense and also has great description. The reader will be surprised what the book contains. I couldn’t put down the book when my mom said its time for dinner!!

  3. St. Jerome

    This book is awesome because it never gets boring, it is like a old fairy tale with a new twist and amazing ending.

  4. St. Jerome

    This novel is about friendship, fantasy, and adventure! It was very interesting and was very detailed.

  5. Agnes Davidson

    It’s is a good book, because it’s always a mystery and you never know if Princess Olivia is safe. I think that everyone should read it!

  6. Agnes Davidsons

    I think this book is awesome because it makes me feel like I’m in the story. I totally recommend it to people who like fairy tales.

  7. nicholas sheran

    I thought it was an awesome book.It is most interesting when Olivia is in the witches lair .You can never put the book down

  8. Hillhurst school

    The Curse Of The Dream Witch

    R.M.B.A.#3 2015

    Due: March 11th 2015

    News report:

    Hello people that are reading this, I am Eric, a student in Hillhurst school. And for my R.M.B.A.#3 I am doing The Curse Of The Dream Witch Dun dun dun dun! Like the sound effects sounds creepy right? So let’s get to business, The book tells you a fiction story about an evil witch that made your dreams come true and she will want something in exchange for the dream (don’t meet her she will ask for something bad such as your heart). The story also tells about a king and a queen wanting to have a child. They went into the woods where the witch lived and she granted them their wish. A few years later she came back and asked for (you know what? right cause i already told you that in the sentence before this one. If you don`t know it is the heart of their little girl named Olivia).

    I think that this book is for people that like a mystery or a story that pulls the reader into the book.

    I think this because the author (Allan Stratton) put in lots of descriptive words in the story so the reader can imagine in his/her head so it is like a movie playing in the readers mind. Allan also put in lots of mystery in the book so the reader can’t stop reading, his title and front/back illustrations were fabulous because the title was exciting and the illustrations were breath taking so the three combined equals a very good story.

    Has the purpose of the book been achieved?
    Yes it has it has because it was a book that was supposed to draw readers in and give them a mystery/horror kind of feeling. And I was Scared too.

    2. Is the writing style clear and effective?
    Yes it is because Allan Stratton put in a very clear explanation of the problems, characters and other things that were very important to the book. his writing style was very effective because he could make a picture in the readers mind.

    3. How is this book superior or inferior to other books on the topic?
    It is, because unlike other stories that are on the topic aren’t very interesting and as descriptive as this one and also other books don’t draw reader in and keep the reader interested until the book ends.

    In conclusion I think that the curse of the dream witch is the best book I ever read in a very long time and also I think it is going to win the R.M.B.A. Award by a landslide.

  9. Hillhurst Elementary Schools

    Curse Of The Dream Witch is about a town that is cursed with all because the king and the queen couldn’t have their own child, and owed the Dream witch the heart of their daughter. The day of Princess Olivia’s coronation the Dream Witch came to collect her payment, but little did the King and Queen know that the Dream Witch wanted their daughter’s heart. My favorite part was when Princess Olivia defeated the evil Dream Witch. I think that the Author did a great job writing this book because when you are reading it you automatically are hooked in. This book opens your imagination and makes you think outside of the box. I highly recommend this book for children any age!

  10. Noble Central School

    I am the Librarian here at NCS and I have been reading “Curse of the Dream Witch” out loud to my Grade 5 class and we have very much enjoyed reading it together. Every week we are excited to sit down and see what happens next. The students always get a laugh and a few “ewwwws” out of the descriptions of the dirty, greasy Prince Leo. One student commented how the Dream Witch’s lair reminded her of a movie she’d once seen about a house being alive.
    This story is a fairy tale mixed with elements of fantasy and adventure that has the potential to captivate readers of all ages. Younger readers can feel along with the main characters: Olivia, Milo, and Leo, as they simultaneously struggle to escape the expectations of others while braving the Dream Witch’s lair. Will they be able to save the Kingdom’s children before it’s too late?
    Whether you’re reading this book on your own or together with a group, the subtle humour will keep you laughing, and the adventure will keep you turning pages until the very end.

  11. Hillhurst School

    Depending on 12 eggs (now 1) for survival; people banned from your sight; children disappearing, the blame is on you; no friends to talk to (except a little mouse); your dad is having a terrible stroke, and soon, your heart will be in the Dream Witch’s hands (according to the curse), how would you feel?

    Princess Olivia, whom they got from the Dream Witch, is the child that King Augustine and Queen Sophia have begged for forever. They promised the Dream Witch anything she wanted in return for a child. However, the witch only wants the heart of Princess Olivia. With Princess Olivia protected by 12 pysankas (Ukrainian eggs) that act as talismans, the Dream Witch puts a curse on the kingdom. This curse causes the “great dread.” The great dread will only be lifted if Princess Olivia’s heart is in the Dream Witch’s hands. The day before the deadline of the curse, Princess Olivia makes a dangerous escape to the Dream Witch’s lair. During this quest, she comes across an evil prince, a giant man-eating mole, and the Dream witch herself.

    Curse of the Dream Witch is an amazing and adventurous fairy-tale. This is because the author uses very detailed words to describe the incidents that occur throughout the book. For example, when the Dream Witch came to try and claim her prize, I was able to imagine exactly what was going on. I was able to imagine myself in this situation/scene, and I was a bit worried (since the Dream Witch was about to get Princess Olivia’s heart).

    One of my favourite parts of this book was during a scene when they were almost at the Dream Witch’s lair:
    “The wind calmed to a gentle breeze. The umbrella floated down. Olivia, Milo and Ephemia saw gardens lusher than any courtyard, with flowers high as houses, stretching to the horizon.
    “It looks like Heaven,” Olivia marveled.
    “A Heaven made in Hell,” Ephemia murmured darkly.
    The umbrella landed on top of a peony bush the size of an oak tree. Olivia and Milo climbed down its mighty branches.”

    I enjoyed this part because they were really amazed, and they felt a bit relaxed. It was like everything down and it just felt like they weren’t even on the mission/quest anymore. Again, this scene was very detailed and it created an image in my mind. Of course, there are many other parts that I enjoy just as much, but I don’t want to give away the story by telling you too many of my favourite parts.

    I believe the point of this novel is to get us to take more risks and be brave. I think this way because Princess Olivia had to take a risk to try and destroy the Dream Witch. She
    could lose her life doing this!

    I highly recommend this book to kids that love fairy-tales, adventure books, and mystery books. This book can be for people any age and any gender. However, it may be a bit frightening for kids under the age of 8. In my opinion, as a fifth grader in Hillhurst School, I think that Curse of the Dream Witch is an amazing novel that includes a lot of detail.

  12. Hillhurst School

    RMBA#3 Curse of The Dream Witch
    Book Review 1
    Ethan

    Hello fellow students. In this review I will talk about one of my personal favorites of all the RMBA books this year titled “Curse Of The Dream Witch”. In this book there is loss, triumph, and also some general humor. I will start off this review with a short summary of this extravagant novel.
    This book tells the tale of 2 brave young souls named Milo and Olivia. You might have noticed that they are a boy and a girl but that is not the biggest difference between them. Milo is a peasant farmer who spends his days walking through the cornfields near the dreaded forest. No man was permitted inside this particular forest for it was where the cursed dream witch dwelled. Olivia was the crown princess of the medieval town the story is set in. However, she watched as the days wasted away inside a locked turret in the castle. She was stuck in there because of a terrible misfortune during her first year of her life. This event left her with one sacred egg to protect her, called a pysanky. This egg protected her from the Dream Witch, who had developed a craving for the princess’s heart.
    One day when Milo had been having a fight with his parents, he stomped of a little further than usual, to the division between the cornfield and the Dream Witch’s forest. Suddenly he spots a line of coins at the end of which he finds himself in the clutches of the dream witch. The Dream Witch then sends Milo to Olivia’s room and that is when the story really starts. Then an expected visitor with hopes of marrying Olivia comes into the story things start to pick up. When Milo returns to the dream witch empty handed the dream witch is infuriated.
    How will Milo escape?
    Who is this strange visitor?
    How will Olivia bear the burden of a possible marriage?
    To answer these questions you will have to read this novel yourself, my friends, and that is why I think this book is so great, because it leaves you in mystery.

    My main idea for this book review is to ask myself “What is the target audience of this book?” As I realize that there could be many different answers and many different opinions on this subject, so I have decided that if you have a different opinion then you can comment on this report and state your opinion, and I will take all of those answers into consideration. At this time I truly believe that this book is based for a young audience in the age range for 12-17.
    One reason that I think this statement is true is because the writing is a very detailed format and I think that a younger audience, for example an eight year old, would not have the full pleasure of reading the book because they would not understand all of the description presented in this book. Also because the story can have humor that at some times the younger readers may not understand so the younger audience are not recommended to read this book.
    The other reason I think the older audience should not read this book because it is a little bit short and the older audience would not get the same reading experience that a younger person could have if he/she read this book.
    Another reason I think this book should be towards a young audience is because I think that a book like this one should be shared around the young community because it introduces new description and also gets them used to the type of stories they will be reading in the future. This helps with overall literary development and also helps with their knowledge of writing so in the future they can become better authors.

    In conclusion I believe that the target audience of this book is young reader from the ages 12-17 because of its writing, its length, and its introduction to descriptive writing. I recommend this book to anybody interested in fictional stories, of any age. I think that it is a great book and it should be read by anyone who is interested in the topic.


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