The Dream Theatre

A story for children 8 – 12 yrs

34,000 words

$3.99 Amazon Kindle  USA

£2.62 Amazon Kindle UK

E3,34 Amazon Kindle Germany

E3,34 Amazon Kindle Spain

E3,34 Amazon Kindle Italy

Apple iBooks/NOOK/Android/Sony/Diesel & all major ebook Apps.

The golden rule is: if you think it, and believe it, it will happen…

Anything is possible in The Dream Theatre. It’s a place where dreams are played out like pictures on the television; a place that can be everything from wonderful to scary to downright weird.

And you don’t need to be asleep to explore it.

Jamie Ellis and his best friend Martha make this incredible discovery when Martha’s dog Pip leads them into The Dream Theatre then disappears. Desperate to find him Jamie and Martha search the dream world, visiting places and seeing things they never thought possible. But when they eventually find him they face an even more puzzling problem. What is the strange, unending dream Pip seems to be guarding, and why won’t he leave?

The answer means a race against time to help a friend in trouble and Jamie coming face-to-face with his worst nightmare.

“I love the characters of James and Martha, they are very typical children. Daniel loved reading the book after I had finished it so if he will read it, it must be pretty good. Ms. Ball has done an excellent job worthy of such children’s authors as J.K. Rowling and L. Frank Baum.” Rita Reviews

“There are echoes here of Alice, of Blyton, of William Mayne and of a number of surreal texts, from Badlidrempt to various Pullman novellas.” Armadillo Children’s Book Magazine, June 2011

For more information about Sarah Ball visit her website. To chat with Sarah and keep up to date with her news, follow her on Twitter @sarahballwriter.

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REVIEWS

The Dream Theatre – Amazing fantasy adventure, July 20, 2011 I don’t want to say too much about what’s in the story as it’s best to find out yourself. It’s a story full of the fantastical adventure of a boy and girl and their dog called Pip, with a touching and moving end to the story. An excellent book with an interesting twist, a good story for children and young at heart adults. Tony Lilley US Amazon *****

Although her previous novels for adults have appeared in conventional format, Ball’s first book for young readers has been published by only as an eBook. Just how appropriate this is for the intended audience of primary age children is debatable, and the resulting lack of illustration could also be considered a shortcoming for this readership. It would also seem that blackbirdebooks have misjudged their age-range in describing this text as for 8-12 year olds. There is a noticeable disparity between the content, the narrative style and the length, none of which sit entirely comfortable together, as we feel this is essentially a story more suited to upper KS1 and lower KS2 readers. Jamie Ellis and his best friend Martha make an incredible discovery when Martha’s dog Pip leads them into The Dream Theatre and then disappears. Desperate to find him Jamie and Martha search the dream world, visiting places and seeing things they never thought possible. But when they eventually find him they face an even more puzzling problem, to identify the strange, unending dream Pip seems to be guarding. The answer means a race against time to help a friend in a coma and Jamie facing up to the trauma he experienced when his father died. Ball’s text is engaging, though sometimes rather disjointed and scrappy. However gradually the more serious questions addressed come to the fore, and are thoughtfully resolved. There are echoes here of Alice, of Blyton, of William Mayne and of a number of surreal texts, from Badlidrempt to various Pullman novellas. Armadillo Magazine, The Online Independent Children’s Book Magazine, June 11 2011 Reviewer: Bridget Carrington

The Dream Theatre is a children’s book that is recommended for ages 8-12 and I must say I agree. It has a bit of a dark side to it and smaller children may not understand that. Daniel loved reading the book after I had finished it so if he will read it, it must be pretty good. I love the characters of James and Martha, they are very typical children. Ms. Ball has done an excellent job worthy of such children’s authors as J.K. Rowling and L. Frank Baum. Rita Reviews ***** May 2011