Monday, July 2, 2007

BookSprouting Review: Imagine a Night by Sarah Thomson

Imagine a Night by Sarah Thomson

Illustrations by Rob Gonsalves

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover, 40 pages

Published: June 2003

Estimated price: $18.99 USD

Imagine a Night is a creative book that will show your child how to take the ordinary and make it magical through their own imaginations. The extraordinary and haunting illustrations of Rob Gonsalves steal the show as he turns a beautiful albeit simple setting into something absolutely enchanting. A farmer playing a violin to his field of sunflowers may be charming in its own right, but look closely and you’ll see how the sunflowers slowly metamorphose into women with yellow bonnets and green, leafy dresses. A word of caution to those with skittish children, the illustrations are described as “ghostly” and “haunting” for a reason; some of them are a bit eerie even to this no-nonsense 21-year old! The text is whimsical as it encourages children to look beyond the mundane to what possibilities might lie beyond. After all, sometimes lullabies are not only needed for fussy babies, but for “leaf and stem / and dreaming root.”

4 out of 5 Sprouts

1 comment:

Judy said...

This sounds alike a perfectly delightful book and I want to get it for MY bookcase... to heck with the kids... lol. (not really, but I DO like childrens' books. I guess it comes from years of being a preschool teacher)

Thanks for coming by and I really enjoy your site. Gives me ideas for presents for friends' kids, if nothing else.