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That Don't Preach Imagine a DayReview![]() Imagine a Day by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrated by Rob Gonsalves Atheneum/Simon & Schuster (January 2005) ISBN-10: 0689852193, ISBN-13: 978-0689852190 My rating: imagine a day . . . . . . when you can dive down through branches or swim up to the sun. imagine a day . . . . . . when grace and daring are all we need to build a bridge. imagine a day . . . . . . when your wishes float on a puff of air to summon back the blue. --Imagine a Day Thomson and Gonsalves (Imagine a Night Thomson's beautiful, imaginative text speaks to the wonder that children (and some adults) can see the world with. The text moves between magical possibilities and soulful ones, but all of them speak to opening up the heart, mind, and soul. The text almost has a stand-on-your-head and view-the-world kind of thinking, reminiscent of Cooper Edens (If You're Afraid of the Dark Add One More Star to the Night). What Thomson suggests we imagine is often moving and powerful. Some of the text speaks directly and overtly to the best in ourselves and to believing in ourselves, such as "imagine a day . . . when you forget how to fall" and "imagine a day . . . when we build a moat, not to keep strangers out, but to welcome them in." Other sentences are more fanciful "imagine a day ... when you can dive down through branches or swim up to the sun." The brief, packed sentences evoke strong imagery, some of which paint pictures in the mind ("swim up to the sun" and "your house enfolds you like a nest"). It helps to open yourself up to your sense of wonder as you read through the book, to get the most out of it. It rarely feels like there is a word out of place, although there are one or two longer stanzas that have a different feel than most of the others. The repetition of "imagine a day," before each new sentence works well, and becomes expected as you read through the pages. Gonsalves's stunning, surreal acrylic paintings deepen and enrich this book, making it a treasure trove of fantasy art. The paintings are reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg and a happier Escher in color. There is so much to look at and take in, and as you do, you see the impossible, the magical merging with our world, possibilities opening upsuch as children walking on the reflection of a tree on water; a bridge made of people supporting a train, and gradually turning into rock; opening a map to have it become the world. The colors are deep and rich, and there is great play with perspective that makes you look, and then look again to be sure of what you're seeing. We see things transform, such as a backyard fence move into planks resting high up in a city, or a moat being made of panels of mirror. There is a nice use of shadows and perspective to create depth and a sense of realism within the fantasy world. Most of the paintings have a border of white space around them on the page, though several use up the entire space of the page and part its adjoining page. The second last spread epitomizes the feel of the book"imagine a day when the peace of a forest and the strength of a mountain become a cathedral for your heart." It is hope-filled and encouraging. And the last spread will be warming to book lovers and to anyone reading the book and enjoying it, where books open up into unique worlds for the reader to explore. Imagine a Day -Added January 2007 Want more books? Go back to Fantasy & Magic: Let Your Imagination Soar to find another great picture book. Or, go to the Picture Book reviews main menu to see all the categories of books. |
my books: Dragon Speaker: The Last Dragon is a hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) fantasy for teens and fantasy lovers, from HIP Books. SCARS, my realistic fiction teen book, comes out in 2010. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||