I don't understand what you mean by making your dreams "real." You wish to repeat them? See more detail? Clarify what [if anything] they mean? Have more dreams, or better remember those you have? See while awake what you seem to see while asleep? I've found that my dreams fall into distinct categories. There are the precognizant, which come in a repetitious series over several nights, are vivid, detailed and become more detailed with each repetition, and usually occur weeks or months before the "real life" event depicted. They are also comparatively rare. The more usual [remembered] dreams vary in color, clarity, are more or less obvious metaphors, or are entertaining if meaningless. The rest of the dreams are those I really don't recall after awakening and I think are the overwhelming majority. Simply keeping a pad of paper & pen beside the bed and writing down whatever you recall as soon as you awaken seems to be a commonly suggested practice; the act of consciously trying to remember improves your "memory" of what was dreamed. To be honest, I rarely do this -- to write a detailed description of what I found interesting or amusing or puzzling while asleep just isn't among the things I care to do upon awakening, and like most folks I quickly forget what I dreamed and don't feel a loss in the forgetting. Over several years of [mostly] recordkeeping upon awakening, I found there were few metaphoric dreams which didn't clarify themselves within a couple nights -maybe my subcouscious came to realize that if it wants to tell me something, it's better to do so clearly and directly instead of the using the usual symbols. Precog dreams are so memorable that I can write (or tell) about them many hours after waking. However, unless I note them in my diary, I often forget them within a few weeks of the series ending.

Some of the books mentioned above or in the linked thread that I consider worth repeating: Lloyd Alexander's Prydain set (not mentioned, but look also at his Time Cat and The Gawgon and the Boy), Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth, John Christopher's Tripods series, Sachar's Holes and Hiassen's Hoot. If he really does like SF, look at some of the older SF, such as Andre Norton's non-Witch World stuff, or even Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter set. (I think I read Thuvia, Maid of Mars when I was 9 *s*) Some others that all feature boys as protagonists (and btw, these also happen to be from the newbery list): The Trumpeter of Krakow Eric Kelly Johnny Tremain Esther Forbes A Single Shard Linda Sue Park The Thief Megan Whalen Turner; this is a favorite of mine, the personality of Gen just leaps off the pages, and it has a great surprise ending. An older favorite from my days of selecting Scholastic paperbacks: Follow My Leader James Garfield, about a boy and his guide dog. My copy is from the 60's, and it is still available as a new paperback, so it seems to be still read. Have you considered books of nonsense rhymes? They were my delight at his age. Jack Prelutsky has several that are laugh out loud funny.

P. G. Wodehouse, one of my favorite book characters was Jeeves. Also one of those books which is somewhere in back of a bookcase, need to look. Mario Puzo can hit home, painfully. Like his quotes. Barry McGuire is an unknown to me. His quotes are biographical, so don't mean much to me. Walter Jon Williams is an old member of my bookshelves. He stays and does not go out with the donate book pile, which only very slowly gets bigger.

I only came upon one library book that some inconsiderate reader had annotated in ink. It was so distracting that it spoiled my attempt to read and enjoy the book. In one of my rarest of moments, I brought it to the attention of the library staff and the book was promptly removed from their catalog. I fussed...to myself...for days, I was so annoyed. I simply couldn't accept the lack of respect for public property. I don't mind a pencil doodle here or there in a child's book if it has some character. I was scolded severely as a child for doing same but I remember how interested I was in the book and the character that I simply had to personalize the book. When I see minimal pencil contributions of that nature...it brings back a lot of memories. My whole world began in books and I can understand the exuberance of a child doing exactly what I did. But minimally...and never to a book that doesn't belong to the parties involved.