Review: Imagine a Day by Sarah L. Thompson and Rob Gonsalves

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): A Forrest by Lunar Click.



My reviews are a bit different than most. As an undercover superhero (ordinary girl extraordinaire), my purpose is to try and uncover hidden gems lost from the familiar radar. Because of this, I have set up some guidelines for myself (just like the pirate code). :)

I will focus on YA and Children's literature (with very rare exceptions).
I will not review any book that is one of the top 25,000 bestselling books (based on Amazon ranks).
I will try and aim for books 100,000 or larger.
I will review recent books or books of great merit (preferably both).

Imagine a Day Sarah L. Thompson and Rob Gonsalves
Published: Janurary 25, 2005
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Pages: 40
Current Amazon Rank: #41,074
Author's Website:
Want it? Find it here.




The First Line:

Imagine a day...





My Take:

This is another picture book I love. The thing I love about picture books is how much can be evoked in such a small space. Sometimes it is the words used to masterful effect. Sometimes it is the illustrations so creatively and absorbingly done that you want to fall right into them, and feel you are already partway there. Of course, the best are when these two work in harmony with each other to create something extraordinary.

Imagine a day is like that. It plays with your mind in the best possible ways. You see, it relies heavily on optical illusions to give a depth of meaning the words or pictures alone cannot convey. Standing by themselves they do not have nearly the impact when they are next to each other.

Here, I'll show you.



Imagine a day...
...when you can dive
down through branches
or swim up
to the sun.






Imagine a day...
... when you forget
how to fall.


The words are poetry (I am willing to argue most picture books are) and paired with the illustrations (created before the text, mind you) they offer something of a paradigm shift, like seeing the world in a different way. It is a perfect pick-me-up or anytime read. There are two others in this series at least, Imagine a Night and Imagine a Place, though I must admit I do love Places last. This is a really fun and beautiful book and one I don't mind coming back to frequently.




The Final Word:


Words and pictures combine to make something utterly wonderful. I daresay it is synergy at work here. :)