Tag Archives: Imagination

Elem. – Where Have You Been, Little Cat?

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Jones, Richard. Where Have You Been, Little Cat? Illustrated by Richard Jones. 1st American ed., Peachtree, 2023. 978-1-682-63564-3. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-1.

When a small gray cat arrives home, her owner asks her all about her day. Her owner wants to know where she’s been, who she’s met, what she’s seen, and how she felt about everything. Was she scared? Was she happy? Was she brave? Beautiful illustrations, rendered in paint and edited in Photoshop, portray imaginative scenes that will delight young readers and inspire them to come up with answers to the owner’s questions.

THOUGHTS: The cat owner’s questions are reminiscent of questions one’s parent or caregiver might ask when their child arrives home, making this an endearing title. The emphasis on how the cat felt about her experiences throughout the day makes this an excellent choice for teaching self-awareness and social-emotional learning. Pet owners and cat lovers will especially enjoy this book.

Picture Book         

Elem. – The Dreams We Made

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Bentley, Lisa. The Dreams We Made. Simon & Schuster, 2023. 978-1-665-91765-0. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PK-3.

At the center of The Dreams we Made is a little girl with a big imagination. Each night, her father helps her bring her ideas to life using found items. Each day, she holds tight to her daddy, wishing he didn’t need to go back to work. When he encourages her to keep dreaming while he is away, she does. Her dreams grow, and the little girl and her father begin their biggest project yet. One the eve of completing the project, Mommy delivers the sad news that her father has died and cannot complete their project. Together, the girl and her Mom find a way to continue dreaming and, over time, they put the pieces back together and begin feeling closer to Daddy once more.

THOUGHTS: The Dreams We Made is a beautifully illustrated and balanced picture book that combines imagination, love, and loss to create a story that successfully balances all three–accomplishing the unique feat of a story incorporating loss with the potential of broad appeal to picture book readers. The girl’s projects focus on her dreams of space exploration, and Lisa Bentley’s illustrations are dominated by this space theme, inviting children into an engaging world of creativity and imagination. Bentley’s depiction of the mother sharing the loss of the father with her child is gentle and loving, and the child’s expression of this loss (denial, loss of interest in her creations, and destructive anger) will feel real to both child and adult readers. Bentley does not rush her characters through grief, but rather gives her characters time to heal, first in imagination, then through their actions. This beautiful, wise book is highly recommended for all readers in the general library and also for guidance collections.

Picture Book 

Elem. – If I Was a Horse

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Blackall, Sophie. If I Was a Horse. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Little, Brown and Company, 2023. 978-0-316-51098-1. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-2.

What would your life look like if you were a horse? In this amusing, whimsical picture book, a young child imagines exactly what they’d do if they were a horse. Gorgeous illustrations depict a majestic horse interloping in various everyday scenarios, such as eating at the dinner table, refusing to take a bath, and parading through the living room. Each spread contains a simple, straightforward sentence or phrase describing these humorous scenarios. Imaginative and intelligible, this title is sure to spark some interesting discussions at story time.

THOUGHTS: This is another winner from two-time Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall. Use it to kickstart imaginations and have children come up with their own creative storylines about life as an animal. Horse lovers will especially adore this book!

Picture Book

Elem. – How to Ride a Dragonfly

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Donohoe, Kitty. How to Ride a Dragonfly. Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. Anne Schwartz Books, 2023. 978-0-593-17564-4. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-2.

A young girl explains how to ride a dragonfly, beginning with how to shrink in size. Once she has managed to shrink down, lasso a dragonfly, and climb on, she goes on several adventures with the dragonfly. They fight a bumblebee, attend a picnic, escape a hungry frog, dance with the Beetle Band, and do some trick riding. As the sun sets behind the mountain, the narrator ends up back where she began and returns to her full size. Beautiful watercolor and ink illustrations add magic to this fanciful, imaginative tale.

THOUGHTS: Young children will delight in the mishaps experienced by the narrator throughout the story. They will also love the many lifelike creatures featured throughout the book. While not necessarily an educational story, the narrator alludes to some interesting tidbits throughout her adventure that students might enjoy researching further. For example, the narrator claims that bees can’t fly straight, dragonflies eat a lot, and honey cures itches.

Picture Book

Elem. – The Only Astronaut

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Jain, Mahak. The Only Astronaut. Kids Can Press, 2023. 978-1-525-30736-2. $19.99. Grades PreK-2.

Avni loves that she is the only astronaut in her special space station. With it only being her, she gets to make all the decisions – what missions will she travel on, when will she leave, and what will she take with her. At times though it can be hard being the only one in your own space station, such as when your rocket ship breaks down or there are too many tasks to do. Avni makes an important decision: she needs to find an assistant! Will she be able to find an assistant up for the task?

THOUGHTS: A fun imagination story! Two heads can be better than one, leading to new missions to different places!

Picture Book

Elem. – A Delicious Story

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Saltzberg, Barney. A Delicious Story. Hippo Park. 2023. 978-1-662-64016-2. $18.99. Grades K-2.

Little Mouse wants a story. After all, they are in a book and that’s where stories are found. Big Mouse, who is also in the story, has a confession to make… the story is gone because he ate it! Little Mouse really wants a story, so together, Big Mouse and Little mouse write their own story on the spot!

THOUGHTS: This dialogue-based story of two mice has a fun back-and-forth banter that will make readers laugh! When reading a book, we want a story, even if the story has been eaten by a big mouse! Together these two show creativity as they decide to create their own story with their own imagination.

Picture Book

Elem. – Real to Me

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Le, Minh. Real to Me. Illustrated by Raissa Figueroa. Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. 978-0-593-37749-9. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-2.

A young girl and a furry, green creature share a special friendship. Everyone tells the creature that the girl is imaginary, but this doesn’t stop the two from making many wonderful memories together. Then, one day, the girl vanishes unexpectedly, and the creature is devastated. Eventually, the creature makes new friends, but it still thinks about its old friend and wonders what she is up to. Rich digital illustrations complement this magical, dramatic tale of friendship.

THOUGHTS: This delightful story about the evolution of friendships over time will resonate with any child who has struggled with a changing relationship. The message that friendships – old or new, real or imagined – are always impactful is extremely positive and encouraging. Pair this with other titles about imaginary friends, such as Patricia Polacco’s Emma Kate (2005) or Dan Santat’s Beekle (2014).

Picture Book      

Elem. – The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination

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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

Elem./MG – Doodleville: Art Attacks!

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Sell, Chad. Doodleville: Art Attacks! Alfred Knopf, 2022. 978-1-984-89474-8. 250 p. $12.99  Grades 3-6.

Drew’s art club and the Doodles are back in Doodleville: Art Attacks!, which left off where Doodleville ended, with Levi, a doodle (who like the other doodles, can come to life), “borrowing” a baby from a portrait in the Art Institute of Chicago. The baby’s mother is not pleased, and chaos ensues in Art Attacks, as everything seems to go awry in an attempt to reunite the baby with its mother. It begins with bringing the baby back to the institute, where, through a series of events, spurred by Levi’s fear of the mother, the cat statue in Dorian Gray’s portrait is broken, enraging Dorian. Levi, afraid of the mother, once again steals (and hides!) the baby and the Mom, blaming Dorian, amasses and army of art to find her baby. Dorian, on his end, gets his own crew together. Drew’s art club, disagreeing on how best to proceed, first adds to the problem, fractures in argument, then comes together to get the art institute back on track.

THOUGHTS: Doodleville: Art Attacks! clearly is a continuation of the first book, and the two should be read in order, or it won’t make sense. Doodleville’s greatest strengths lie in the value it puts on the arts and imagination through its strong art/adventure storyline–unusual in the graphic novel market. The original cast is full of diverse characters (and their doodles) and it is, indeed, their diversity of thought and action that creates some of the conflict in the book. Gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other leads to an increased ability to work together and problem solve toward an ending that satisfies all–and creates a space for children in the Art Institute of Chicago. Recommended for its readability, creativity, and emphasis on the importance of art, as well as its cast of characters.

Graphic Novel          Hannah J. Thomas, Central Bucks SD

Elem. – Knight Owl

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Denise, Christopher. Knight Owl. Christy Ottaviano Books. 978-0-316-31062-8. 44 p. $17.99. Grades K-3. 

Owl is smart, brave, and resourceful, and he dreams of putting these traits to the test by becoming a knight. When knights start disappearing from the castle, Owl applies to knight school, and to everyone’s surprise, is accepted. After graduating, he’s assigned to the Knight Night Watch. Each evening, he patrols the castle wall, and unlike his companions, never falls asleep once. One night, a large dragon lands on the castle wall and threatens to eat Owl. With some quick thinking, Owl suggests the dragon try some pizza instead. The pair munch on slices and bond over their shared experiences of hatching from eggs, love of the nighttime, and soaring through open skies. Owl’s bravery and cleverness lead to a surprising new friendship as he proves that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. This title’s digitally created illustrations feature nighttime shades of blue, yellow, and brown, and Owl’s vivid facial expressions and large eyes feature prominently on many pages. 

THOUGHTS: Themes of perseverance and working toward your dreams take center stage in this book, as does the idea of brains trumping brawn. Owl also demonstrates the true traits of a hero: quick wits, a sense of humor, and a big heart. This title will be popular with readers clamoring for titles featuring dragons, knights, and life during medieval times. 

Picture Book          Anne Bozievich, Southern York County SD