Imagine a Day

Author Sarah Thomson has created a world in which anything is possible through the power of imagination. Rob Gonsalves has taken her words and translated them into beautiful paintings that represent his own imaginings. Painted in acrylics, the illustrations are not simply pictures, but actual paintings that are thought-provoking and cause the reader to physically pause while reading. The vivid colors feature incredible detail that liken these paintings to real life, as if there really is a fence that turns into a skyscraper, or glass mirrors that become moats, or a puzzle that is actually the real world. Figures of the paintings morph into each other, almost a puzzle in themselves. There is not much text, but the text that is there is powerful in its few words.

This book is actually the sequel to Imagine a Night, also by Thomson and Gonsalves and developed in the same style as Imagine a Day. I would love to see this book used in a classroom. It would be so interesting to have kids create their own page in the story, a classroom book of imagination. While reading, I was reminded of Chris Van Allsburg in that the illustrations are fantastical like Van Allsburg’s text. What a great combination that could be!