Not since I first read Dennis Lee’s classic collection Alligator Pie have I been so captivated by a book of imaginative poetry for children. Imagine This! (by Joanne Froh, illustrated by Frances Pagens) reaches out through compelling verse and intricate pen-and-ink illustrations and pulls readers – young and old – into the world of imagination.
The book’s dedication says it all:
Dedicated to children everywhere who like to daydream and play make-believe. And for those of you who don’t — well, this book is dedicated to you also, in the hope that you will soon discover what you’ve been missing ~ and join in the fun.
And the layout is entirely conducive to inspiring imaginative play: each poem, along with its lush illustration, fits on two pages, so you can read it and then head off to play, inspired. That’s not to say that the book can’t be enjoyed in its entirety; my daughters were so entranced that I had to read the whole thing, cover-to-cover, the first time (with generous pauses to enjoy the intricate and equally imagination-inspiring artwork).
Beyond all the inherent merits of the work itself, there’s a compelling story behind Imagine This! The book was first dreamed of by illustrator Frances Plagens, when her daughter Joanne (who later wrote the poetry for the bok) was just a child. Her ambition to see the book completed and published "faded with the demands of work, family, and other artistic pursuits; and the book was tucked away, unfinished, for more than 35 years." (Imagine This!: jacket notes) Then, thanks to daughter Joanne’s perseverance, this mother-daughter team went to work, eventually turning their shared vision into reality. And the result is truly wonderful.
Studies show that unstructured, imaginative play-time is critical to child development, but unfortunately many of our children don’t get the opportunity to engage in it. Between school, lessons, sports and other activities, most modern children are so highly programmed that they simply do not have time to engage in the kind of free play that I recall as such a huge part of my childhood in the 70s.
So do your child a favour and clear out a full afternoon from his or her schedule, then give them a copy of Imagine This! and let them, in the words of author Joanne Froh, "build a dream/things are not just what they seem."
And when they won’t come in for dinner, remember my favourite verse from the book:
That’s my mother’s voice, I fear
calling me away —
Let’s pretend we cannot hear
and linger just to play.
To find out more visit www.joannefrancespress.com or to order your own copy of Imagine This!, visit www.amazon.ca.