Colfer, Eoin. Imaginary Fred. New York: HarperCollins, 2015. 978-0062379559. 48p. $18.99. Gr. K-3.

Fred is the perfect imaginary friend who appears just when a child wishes for a friend, but Fred is accustomed to being cast aside when that child acquires a human friend. Fred starts to fade and know he’s about to be sucked back up into the imaginary realm until the next child needs him. That is until he meets Sam. He and Sam do everything together, but one day Sam announces he’s met someone he’d like Fred to meet, Sami. Uh oh, thinks Fred, here we go again. But wait! Sami has an imaginary friend Frieda, who completes their friendship circle perfectly. This book is tons of fun, written and illustrated by the amazing team of Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl series), and Oliver Jeffers (The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Day the Crayons Quit). While the reading level is 3.5, I had middle grade students who thoroughly enjoyed this as both a read aloud as well as paging through independently. THOUGHTS: Pair this with The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat for an imaginary friend themed lesson and discussion.  

Picture Book    Kathie Jackson, Plymouth Meeting Friends School