Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

After her marriage to Jack, Sally is anxious about being a queen. When she discovers a portal to Dream Town, her story takes a turn as she unleashes the Sandman across all the worlds. Characters from the animated, dark-fantasy movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” are featured as Sally embarks on a journey through portals to holiday worlds in a quest to return to Halloween Town and put the Sandman to sleep. Important themes of identity, self-doubt, anxiety, and belonging are broached in this fantasy novel. In a middle-grade classroom, the book lends itself to independent reading and may be particularly interesting around Halloween. In literature circle groups, the story may be suitable to discuss themes of personal identity or self-esteem as students analyze how Sally’s character develops from being a self-doubting bride to a confident queen.