{"id":37331,"date":"2020-08-03T22:17:26","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T02:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37331"},"modified":"2020-08-03T22:17:26","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T02:17:26","slug":"review-of-imagine-by-juan-felipe-herrera-illustrated-by-lauren-castillo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37331","title":{"rendered":"Review of Imagine, by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Lauren Castillo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Imagine<\/em><\/p>\n

by Juan Felipe Herrera
\nillustrated by Lauren Castillo<\/p>\n

Candlewick Press, 2018. 32 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written November 2, 2018, from a book sent by the publisher
\n2018 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#6 Children’s Nonfiction Picture Books<\/p>\n

I confess \u2013 when I first read this book at the library, I looked through it hastily and wasn\u2019t impressed. But when the publisher sent it to my house, I gave it another look, knowing what it was, took my time, and this time was touched by its beauty.<\/p>\n

This picture book is an illustrated poem \u2013 an autobiographical poem addressed to the reader and intended to inspire.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s short \u2013 I admit that it\u2019s easy to dismiss if you don\u2019t take your time with it and stop to look at each picture.<\/p>\n

Juan Felipe Herrera was Poet Laureate of the United States from 2015 to 2017. This poem shows us his humble beginnings, and his journey to become a poet.<\/p>\n

Each stanza ends with the word \u201cimagine\u201d and covers a double-page spread. Here are the first few stanzas:<\/p>\n

If I picked chamomile flowers
\nas a child
\nin the windy fields and whispered
\nto their fuzzy faces,<\/p>\n

imagine<\/p>\n

If I let tadpoles
\nswim across my hands
\nin the wavy creek,<\/p>\n

imagine<\/p>\n

If I jumped up high
\ninto my papi\u2019s army truck
\nand left our village of farmworkers
\nand waved adios
\nto my amiguitos,<\/p>\n

imagine<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You see the boy gradually getting bigger in the pictures. The poetry also talks about his experiences:<\/p>\n

If I moved
\nto the winding city
\nof tall, bending buildings
\nand skipped
\nto a new concrete school
\nI had never seen,<\/p>\n

imagine<\/p>\n

If I opened
\nmy classroom\u2019s wooden door
\nnot knowing how to read
\nor
\nspeak in English,<\/p>\n

imagine<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It takes him through writing stories and poetry, singing in front of people, and finally reading out of his own poetry book in front of the Library of Congress as the Poet Laureate of the United States of America.<\/p>\n

And then, finally, the book finishes all the sentences:<\/p>\n

imagine what you could do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Inspiring and beautiful \u2013 and there\u2019s also a treat under the paper cover! (The stars of the cover are embossed in gold foil on the book with the title.)<\/p>\n

candlewick.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/imagine.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a a book sent by the publisher.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a>