Danny is a very busy young boy. He wants the school bell to ring so that he can get home to a snack, a peanut butter and banana sandwich. And he has plans to study English and Science for upcoming tests. It’s a busy life. And there’s no room in his life for Art History and certainly not “some dead old artists from the past.” Life is far more exciting than old paintings and sculptures and the life stories of the artists who created them. At least, that’s what he thinks.

His teacher is quite attuned to Danny’s negative attitude towards art. When the bell finally rings, before Danny can dash out of the class, his art teacher, Ms. Minnts, calls him back. She struggles to convince Danny that there is value in an arts education. As she sums up her argument, she says, “Ideas cannot be hatched in a vacuum.” Heavy words for a Middle Grade student. But Danny goes home, plops on the couch for a quick nap and has a very interesting dream, one where a seer of sorts guides him through the mysteries and excitement of art through the ages. When Danny awakes, he is a whole new person, one who sees value in studying the arts.

Mark Poe’s early chapter book for Middle Graders, Danny and the DreamWeaver, is an insightful glimpse at introducing young people to the visual arts. Using a dream fantasy scenario, the author weaves a plot that pulls the young reader into the story, as the protagonist, Danny, journeys through time and meets some fascinating artist characters. Cleverly done.

Mark Poe’s Danny and the DreamWeaver tells a story about Danny Venuti, a ninth-grader obsessed with video games, who couldn't care less about the importance of art and imagination in his daily life, unless it had something to do with architecture and the artwork of a video game. After a telling off from his art teacher, who tries to encourage him to do better and tries to inspire him, Danny goes home and falls asleep, only to find himself caught in a strange dream with a nose-shaped creature calling himself Nostrildamus. Nostrildamus takes him into an unforgettable, mysterious adventure with an interesting take on art history and a twist that will change Danny’s view of the world.

Danny and the DreamWeaver is definitely an inspiring book with the unique point of view of Nostrildamus, who is knowledgeable about history but cannot see, except with his inner eye. His uniqueness allows him to view situations in a way we do not. His experiences and thoughts taught me a lot of valuable lessons and his funny correlations allowed me to remember history with more interest and fondness. The story combines so many genres seamlessly; there’s art, humour, action, adventure, fantasy, and history, so many things that kept me on my toes that I never got bored reading it. Poe excels in clever and creative plot devices and I found myself as intrigued as Danny when he recounted his adventures. Poe masterfully combined modern life with fantasy and reinvigorated history with his engaging and diverse writing style and life lessons.

Danny’s dream has been hijacked by a green, snake-like being with a massive nose and no eyes. Nostrildamus, dreamweaver and famous seer, has a tale to tell. It starts with a vision of an agitated red artist. Nostrildamus, being a helpful and benevolent being, hops into the time machine given to him by O.G. Swells and travels to fifteenth century Rome. Here he discovers a terrible crime: multi-coloured splats of paint deface a magnificent work of art. Nostrildamus is determined to discover the culprit behind this terrible act. His search will take Danny through time and space as Nostrildamus investigates a long list of suspects, including such illustrious artists as Hippopotamus Bosch, Carrotvaggio, Pablo Pickaxo, and Salvador Dolly.

Danny and the DreamWeaver takes the reader on an imaginative journey through art history. It’s often easier to learn facts through stories, and Mark Poe uses this to great effect. Poe’s depictions of the great artists in Danny and the DreamWeaver are humorous and memorable while the short biographies at the back of the book are informative. Delightful drawings are scattered throughout the text, illustrating several of the characters as well as providing visuals of the graffiti in the Sistine Chapel and the time machine. A succinct, conversational writing style makes this a very readable book, although I did find Danny’s interjections a little repetitive in the beginning. Danny and the DreamWeaver is a fun and whimsical story that’s most suitable for older middle grade and younger YA readers.

Danny seems like a typical 9th grader in Danny and the DreamWeaver by Mark Poe. Held after class by the art teacher who warns him he needs to pay attention, Danny tunes her out until she mentions how art has influenced so many other things in the world, even the graphics for Danny’s favorite games. After having an after-school snack, Danny plans on studying, but he ends up on an amazing dream journey through time with a very odd character to try to solve an art crime. The DreamWeaver, the blind seer Nostrildamus, takes Danny to the year 1512 to Italy – where a famous piece of artwork has been vandalized. Examining clues, Nostrildamus and Danny visit other famous artists and end up back in Danny's own century. When the mystery is solved and Danny wakes up, he really has a lot to think about. Was this just some crazy dream triggered by things he half-saw and heard in class, or did he really travel through time? The big question is, what will Danny do with some of the insights he gained on this weird adventure?

Mark Poe has created an amazing set of characters based on real historical figures in this exciting adventure story, Danny and the DreamWeaver. This format is fantastic for teaching children and young adults about history and art while making it fun and interesting. It also passes along a few other valuable lessons hidden in the action of the story so Danny and the DreamWeaver is definitely a win-win book for imagination, facts, and the value of learning in an entertaining setting. The characters are great and certainly engaging, and the notes about the Characters at the end round out the educational aspects perfectly.

As soon as I reached the second chapter I was sure I had read something from Mark Poe before "Danny and the DreamWeaver." Poe has a unique writing style and imagination that isn’t easily duplicated, especially about famous artists. "Meet My Famous Friends" by Poe’s alter ego, Rich DiSilvio, compliments this book and is one of the funniest books to familiarize children with artists. With name association, Poe uses a story to help young people remember which style and time artists are remembered.

Danny is a competitive young man who is held behind art class to discuss his attitude about learning with his teacher. Danny doesn’t understand why Ms. Minnts quotes Albert Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. As Danny time travels with Nostrildamus, he realizes the importance of Einstein’s statement as they search to find the mischievous person who vandalized the Sistine Chapel. The list of Characters in the back of the book should help clear up any questions you have about the characters throughout the story.

I bought this book for my nephew and while I personally did not read it I know a young boy who got a kick out of it!

My nephew is a boys boy. He is the class clown, loves to mess with his younger sister, and history is his least favorite subject. I bought this book on a whim, in reality, I was thinking I would turn into that lame aunt that buys him books. At first, my sister had to FORCE him to read the first few pages. But then she found him staying up a bit too late one night reading!

I visited him a few days later and started asking him questions about the book with no idea what it was really about. He found it so cool, even more so when he realized these characters were real. Well some. I asked him if he wanted more books on the real people and he just rolled his eyes….so I think the author is just going to have to write more books if this kid is ever going to learn anything else about history.

"Danny and the DreamWeaver" is recommended for a number of reasons.

First, it stresses out the importance of "all" subject studying as opposed to selective studying. Second, it shows the importance of arts in one's life. Third, it introduces you to some famous personalities from history. Fourth, it shows the value of good manners. Fifth, the writing is pretty simple. Sixth, the book is highly entertaining and is sure to engage a child. My little eight-year-old reader and I both loved the book!

“Danny and the DreamWeaver: A Mysteriously Artful Fantasy” is a book written by Mark Poe. This book is entertaining from beginning to end. The book is short, it has got a bit more than a hundred pages and fun is assured page after page.

Its main character is Danny, a boy who plays video games all day and has quarrels with his neighbor. This boy starts having a rare dream with a rare creature, as we can see on the cover, a big nose with no eyes that can see the future, called Nostrildamus ( a hilarious name for it and well thought out).

I certainly recommend reading this very good book by Poe. Entertainment is assured.

VERY CREATIVE!

Danny and the Dreamweaver by Mark Poe is one of the most unusual books I've ever read. The cover also caught my attention. It was strange looking and made me wonder what it was about...

Inside this intriguing yet fascinating story, was a teen who meets a nose figure in a dream. From there, the main character, a teenage boy, learns a lot about famous artists as well as life. I love art and this story covered it in an interesting way. Mark Poe was creative. His book took me on an adventure. It was part fantasy and part time-travel. Educational yet entertaining. I would recommend this book to YA readers everywhere.

This book was so cute!

A trip through history has never been so much fun. The vocabulary will challenge young readers to learn new words through context (the ideal way) and will keep them engaged as they learn about historical figures. Very cute, excellent illustrations, super creative and fun.

Five stars. Pick it up for the kid in your life!

This book got me going through pages and very interested from the beginning.

Me gusta que cualquiera pueda leer este libro y está lleno de información histórica. Es una buena opción para adultos y niños para aprender historia.
I like that anyone can read this book and it is full of historical information. It is a good choice for adults and children to learn history.

This is such a fun combination of bizarre fantasy and a lecture on history and art.

The plot about Danny, who goes on an adventure with a creature named Nostrildamus (if you find that funny, this is a book for you) is basically a foil for meeting a bunch of cool characters based on real people from history. The writing is funny, creative and perfect for younger readers, but adults can also have a lot of fun with this, I certainly had. I love the world that the author built, very imaginative and vividly described, along with that lovely gang of characters.

This is not an educational book per se, but with its entertainment value it has a lot to offer to a young reader and there is no doubt that they can learn from this. It will certainly be easier to remember these strange characters based on real people than read about those people from a boring textbook. My recommendation.

"Danny and the DreamWeaver: A Mysteriously Artful Fantasy" written by Mark Poe is a captivating book written for youth.

The main character, Danny, is taken on a daydream adventure, learning about historical figures along the way. This book will help educate youth in a fun-to-read way, but with a humorous side to history. Certain names have been altered to go along with the humorous side, such as Nostrildamus.

I loved this book, and my daughter, who is 8, also really enjoyed reading it. The author has a real talent for bringing the reader into the story and making them feel as though they are right there with the main character. I really liked how education this book is with humor and fiction being thrown in to make the story flow and make it more interesting.

The Dreamweaver takes Danny on an educational mystery to solve who vandalized the Sistine Chapel. There is a list of the actual characters (Nostrildamus is listed as the actual Nostradamus) at the back of the book so that readers can reference the actual famous person. This book is as informative as it is entertaining to read. - I highly recommend it!

Although the book is probably rated "young adult", readers of all ages will learn about famous historical figures through their antics in this book.

The author does a masterful job of incorporating each figures quirks and attributes into the story. It is a wonderful book to read and a painless way to learn.

The author did a good job of not talking down to his audience, and making things fun including twists on famous historical characters' names.

This story includes all the things needed to keep young people reading: humor, mystery, crime, time travel, etc. The author also uses some humor to help kids remember the stories associated with the history the story explores.

This was an entertaining book that I believe young readers would enjoy.

An enjoyable fantasy-like tale with a great sense of humor and interesting tidbits of art history mixed in with a mysterious crime. A quick read that’s great for kids in middle & high school.

I have to admit that I was drawn into this story by the cover. I know they say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but with a title like “Dreamweaver” and a picture of a giant nose I immediate judged this book as “intriguing”.

As I read the premise I was further attracted to the concept. After all, what would a giant snake nose have to do with dreams and a mystery?

I was pleasantly rewarded for my curiosity, and the imaginative world created by Mark Poe captured my attention. At only 100 or so pages, depending on the device you read on, I was easily and energetically able to read the story in a single sitting.

Danny and the Dream Weaver: A Mysteriously Artful Fantasy by Mark Poe takes the wild daydreams of Danny and creates a story that is hard to put down.

The wacky characters in this book will have you laughing along as you read. Mark Poe caught my attention on page one and kept me quickly turning the pages to find out what would happen next. I found that the pace set in Danny and the Dream Weaver: A Mysteriously Artful Fantasy was easy to follow and I quite enjoyed the way the book played out.

When I come across a good book, I strive to make sure that I pass on the joy of reading to anyone who is interested. This genre has piqued my interest and has reinvigorated my love for reading. If you are interested in this genre, I would definitely give this book a read. You will not regret it.

Dreams have a life and will of their own. Mark Poe has a unique and witty writing style that makes it hard to put this book down. From the very beginning, he set up his character in the real world to be sarcastic, funny, with clear likes and dislikes and even a nemesis that gives him depth before dropping into the world of the imagination.

Danny loves playing video games and finds school to be a waste of time. One day he slips into sleep and finds himself in a bizarre dream controlled by a strange creature called Nostrildamus. A strange dream of art and mystery takes Danny on a journey, but whether or not it will change him is the question.

As a great lover of both art history and surrealism, this book was right up my alley. I found the book to be well written, the premise to be interesting, and the story to be unique and funny. The occasional fun drawings also added to the great world that Poe created. I would highly recommend giving this book a read.

Good read, perfect for middle schoolers! Danny and the DreamWeaver is a fun book geared toward older kids but is a fun read for adults too!

Mark Poe uses real historical figures in his story which ends up being a fun way to teach kids about important historical figures, times, and objects that still to this day have significance on the world without the kids really knowing they are learning something about history!

Poe takes historical figures names and changes them into funny variations to make them easier to remember. In Danny and the DreamWeaver, it starts out as Danny in class and his teacher asks him to wait after the class leaves. The teacher quotes Einstein for Danny. Though he’s not sure what it means and is a bit mystified. Danny ends up on an adventure with Nostrildamus to find who vandalized the Sistine Chapel. Along the way, he discovers the true meaning of the quote. There’s a list of characters and who their real historical counterpart is for those confused about any characters!

Silly, Fun and Very Educational

Danny and the Dream Weaver is certainly a unique story. At its core, it is an educational book, helping readers to learn and remember key detail about artists and history. But, more than that, the story is simply silly and fun. It's one of those books where the readers learn without intending to or really knowing that they are. It is, of course, written for a younger audience. But, even older readers are likely to learn a few titbits and enjoy the experience.

Couldn't Contain the Laughter!

What first caught my attention was the beautiful cover, the clear and colorful, yet humorous image on it, but I couldn’t imagine that Danny and the DreamWeaver: A Mysteriously Artful Fantasy by Mark Poe would be such a delightful read, a spellbinding fantasy read for young adults. And I loved it all the same as an adult.

Meet Danny, a videogame junky who spends his time daydreaming in class. But then a weird creature suddenly gets into his day-dreams, transporting him to another time to solve an art riddle. Follow him in this wonderful adventure with Nostrildamus, the odd-looking creature with no eyes. The author combines elements of art history, time travel, and intrigue to weave a great story that will have readers laughing their lungs out, very often throughout the story.