Tag Archives: imagination

The Whole Hole Story. Written by Vivian McInerny and illustrated by Ken Lamug

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Zia has a hole in her pocket. This might be a problem for others, but not for Zia. The hole falls out of her pocket and grows. This might be scary for any other child. But, Zia knows that this is her imagination and she is in control. Therefore, there is nothing to be afraid of when she falls through the hole (somewhat Alice in Wonderland-ish). She turns that hole into a whole series of adventures. It transforms from a fishing hole to a swimming hole to a watering hole (complete with lions, giraffes and more) to many more holes and fun. Finally, she decides to take a rest on a tree branch and watches the hole shrink down small enough to fit back into her pocket, thus ending the Whole Hole Story.

This story is a heartwarming take on imaginative play from a child’s perspective and is reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon as Zia directs her tale. She is a confident young Black girl, who blithely moves from one adventure to the next. Illustrations are bright, bold and cartoon-like. Young readers will certainly enjoy hanging out with Zia in this fun, energetic bo0k. Recommended.

The Little Book of Big What-Ifs by Renata Liwska

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What if? That is the question on each page of this sweet book. A series of scenarios, some silly and small, others really big and thought provoking, provide wonderful jumping points for discussion. Illustrated in pencil with softly rendered animals in various settings.

Read aloud to students “What if you swallowed a seed?” and you will get all sorts of answers. Read “What if we find one thing in common?” and begin to build awareness that we really aren’t that different. This lovely little book has the potential to invoke thoughtful, meaningful discussion and possible change. All of that in 32 pages.

If You Were Night, by Muon Thi Van and illustrator Kelly Pousett.

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Kelly Pousette, illustrator of “If You Were Night”, creates layered scenes with a technique of cut and folded paper.  The illustrations add to the “magic” feel of the book as the author weaves this simple and profound thought of what is would be like to “become the night”.  A child’s imagination and connection to nature will be inspired as each set of pages create a scenario for children to contemplate.  What would they do?

This book includes fantasy, imagination and the creation of moments of magic as a child gets lost in the possibility of what happens in the night in our natural world.  The combination of art, nature and imagination make this an irresistible book. Timely book for nighttime or peaceful setting. Recommended for families, teachers, and librarians as antidote to the stressful time we are currently living in.   Don’t let this story disappear into the night! Recommended.

The Piano Recital

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Momo is nervously awaiting her turn on stage at her first piano recital. As she repeats to herself “I’ll be ok”, she looks down and sees a small mouse saying the same words. The mouse tells Momo that she has a recital as well and invites her new friend to come watch. Momo follows the mouse to a wonderful concert hall filled with an audience of attentive mice and an incredible array of performers. There are mouse magicians, dancers, singers and an orchestra. They fill the concert hall with color and excitement. Finally, it is the mouse’s turn to perform and Momo offers to accompany her on the piano. They finish the piece and as Momo stands to take a bow, she looks out and realizes that she has just performed at her own recital!

What a beautiful book that is filled with imagination! Momo expresses the nervousness that many children feel at some point in their lives and that nervousness is alleviated in a sweet, magical way. Charcoal and pencil illustrations with a hint of color in the right places are a beautiful accompaniment to a sweet story. Recommended.

Good Guys, Bad Guys

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A pair of siblings that seem so different start their day – one grouchy and messy, the other happy and squeaky clean. They play with their respective groups, the “good guys’ and “bad guys”, throughout a day filled with imagination and fun. Near the end of the day, their paths converge and they retreat to their respective homes, tired and happy. The siblings wave goodbye to their friends and head to bed, agreeing to switch places tomorrow for a new day of fun and imagination.

This book is brimming with joy and play as a wonderful mixture of kids use their imagination to make the day so fun. Characters are diverse and the play is full of action and dramatic play. Colors are vivid and there is movement in the illustrations that enhances the short, rhyming text. Young readers will see themselves in the story. Or, at the very least, glean some awesome ideas for their own playtime! Recommended.

Peanut and Fifi have A Ball

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peanut and fifiSee what happens when two siblings only have one ball.  The older girl, Fifi, tries desperately to get Peanut to share her new ball. But it is a new ball and Peanut isn’t ready to share it just yet.  Fifi goes to great lengths to get her little sister to share but eventually gives up when she finds something even more entertaining.

Delightfully illustrated, by Paul Schmid, with muted tones of pastel red, blue and purple with a lot of white space.  The pictures will engage children. The story will provide a nice springboard to the value and rewards of sharing. The open ending also provides a great story starter for students and highlights the double meaning of the title.

Drops of Life

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The first thing I noticed were the beautiful illustrations in this book. It is was initially drew my attention.

Secondly, I was drawn in by the message described on the back pages.  Here I learned about an organization called ENO (Environment Online) that helps spread awareness and knowledge about sustainable development.  This online environment allows students around the world to share their learning with our global community.  This piqued my curiosity and thought this would be a wonderful resource for teachers and students.

And lastly, once again from the back page, I learned that this story is a well-known children’s play that has been performed in over eighty countries.

With all these positive attributes, I felt I really should have liked this book more; however, I found it to be choppy and unremarkable.  It is easy to envision this as a play by the way it is written, but it makes for stilted reading.  Perhaps something was lost in the translation, but as I was reading through this I couldn’t help but feel as if the dialogue is something that the students themselves would have created.  For this reason, I think students may like it as a play, but will have a difficult time being engaged for reading pleasure.

Speed

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Fast paced, brightly colored, and simple text – it’s a winner!

 

Speed by Nathan Clement is just right for young stock car fans.  Each two page computer rendered pencil drawings will capture a young reader’s attention.

Clement manages to capture the excitement and feel of the races. The reader is taken right into the race from the shout of “start your engines” until the final checker flag. The story begs to be read again as readers discover that they have been privy to a young child’s imaginative play and “the next race is about to begin”.  The end pages look like a checkered flag.  The first page explains what each flag means.

This is one that I’m sure will be hard to keep on the shelf!

 

 

David, Fish & Penguins…

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 This simple story is about one little boy’s vivid imagination as it plays out from his waking in the morning, until his settling in for sleep at night. Each two page spread is awash in beautiful, rich colors that depict different animals.  The main character, David, is a cartoon outline with no color, while the animals from his imagination appear more alive than David with their lively color.  This book is a visual feast and children will find the illustrations engaging.

Translated from Spanish.