Book Review:The Dreamies by Iona Campbell

Book Review: The Dreamies by Iona Campbell 

Before anything else: I was a contributor to The Dreamies. I’m a little biased here (!) but that honesty matters. And even with that personal connection, I truly believe this is a 5/5 book for families navigating the often confusing, sometimes upsetting world of children’s dreams and nightmares.

Nightmares Are Common (and Under-Talked-About)

We often hear that “nightmares are normal,” but for many parents and little ones, they feel anything but. Research suggests that a very high proportion of children experience bad dreams at some point, with estimates indicating that around 20-39 % of kids aged five to twelve have nightmares, and about half of children aged three to six report frequent troubling dreams.

Nightmares can tap into anxiety, developmental imagination, stress, and even sleep quality and without tools to talk through them, a child can easily wake up feeling frightened or misunderstood. That’s where this book feels genuinely necessary.

A Magical Frame for a Big Emotional Topic

On its surface, The Dreamies is a richly illustrated, whimsical tale of tiny beings who paint dreams for sleeping children. But, as the BookTrust review beautifully notes, it also “offers a practical way for children to take more agency over nightmares by demonstrating the power of reframing scary dreams.”

This isn’t just storybook fantasy, it’s a tool families can use. By giving kids a playful way to imagine turning scary dream elements into something gentle or silly, the book helps them practise a coping strategy that has roots in clinical sleep and dream research: reframing. And within the bedtime routine, that tender threshold between wakefulness and sleep, that kind of agency can feel both grounding and comforting.

Why This Matters

There are very few children’s books that tackle nightmares head-on with depth, dignity, and actual guidance. Many lullabies and stories skirt around sleep, but don’t invite a child into the conversation about fear, imagination, and control.

What I love most (and what reviewers agree on) is that The Dreamies doesn’t talk at kids about nightmares, or reassure them with dismissive lines like “It’s nothing.” Instead, it meets children where they are:

• Validating their experience

• Showing them that scary dreams can change shape

• Inviting curiosity and imagination as tools for calm

And for caregivers, there’s an expert-written note from a child sleep specialist that compassionately frames those strategies for grown-ups, not as prescriptions, but as supports to guide children in building confidence around sleep and dreams.

A Book for Sleep, Connection, and Conversation

My hope is always that books become shared moments, not just bedtime fillers. Moments that deepen connection, make space for feelings, and help children feel truly understood. The Dreamies does all of this with joy, colour, and warmth. The magic isn’t just in the illustrations it’s in the permission it gives children to talk about what’s inside them: their wonder, their worries, and their dreams.

Yes, I’m biased.
Yes, I think it’s a five-star book.

But more importantly it helps families talk, breathe, play, imagine, and rest together. And in a world where nightmares are common but rarely explored with kindness and depth, that’s something meaningful.

Get your copy here.