Montague, Brad. The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination. Illustrated by Brad and Kristi Montague. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023. 978-0-593-32347-2. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PreK-3.

The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination introduces us to special agents called figments who help to maintain the world’s creativity. There are many different types of figments, such as invisible figments, rock figments, even merfigments! They all have a special job at the Bureau, but none of them are as special as Sparky. He is in charge of the mail and every letter, card, or package gets sorted through his office. However, Sparky has a secret… he writes poetry. One day as he is going to his office to start his job, he notices that the Cave of Untold Stories is starting to collapse. Even though Sparky is terrified of Brenda with her scales and teeth, he zooms down to help her and save the Cave. Will Sparky be able to save the cave? Will he convince people not to keep their songs, poems, and stories to themselves?

THOUGHTS: This is a beautifully charming picture book about imagination, not being afraid, and embracing who you are. The illustrations are charming and add to the overall feel of the story. The reader will want to come back several times just to look at all the little details that they may have missed on their first read. This would be a great book for a creative writing prompt, or even an art class (as the front of the Bureau is top secret and no one knows what it looks like). Highly recommend this book for either a fun read aloud or the beginning of a fun lesson.

Picture Book