This is an encouraging and inspiring tale which reassures us that if you set out to find your imagination, you will find it.
The opening pages welcome us with a lament familiar to all mothers. I get this every time from Mr 6 when I enforce a break on screens of all sizes.
‘Mum, I’m BORED!’
The little girl in this story, Eva, is bored. When Eva’s mum encourages her to use her imagination, she doesn’t know what an imagination is. Nonetheless, she decides to hunt for it. It is heartening to see her prepare for the journey with Chops her dog. The illustrations bring the text alive as Eva’s house transforms into exotic locations. Watch the shadows as they create explorers out of Eva and Chops and creatures lurking in jungles. Is that a panther crouching among the trees? The dining table becomes a dense forest and the cuckoo clock adds to the effect.
There are lots of surprises along the way, a map, a cave, a long lost friend! As Eva travels through her house, the landscape changes from valleys to a forest, mountain and caves, rainforests and wilderness. Eva finds a stack of treasure at the end of her quest too! When she finally reaches mummy again, she’s had a great adventure, but doesn’t think she has found her imagination!
Wenda Shurety has accurately captured how children play creating fantastical lands and scenarios using their imaginations. Karen Erasmus’s illustrations draw us further into the imaginary world that Eva finds herself in, using clever artistic techniques. The text is exciting to read and the art contains lots of details to take in.
We were lucky enough to attend a storytime at Books @ Stones bookshop by Wenda Shurety herself. She engaged the children in conversation and drama to spark their imaginations. It was beautiful to see the kiddos responding so well, except for my Mr 6 who had temporarily caught the grumps! But the grumps all disappeared when Wenda pulled out paper and pencils. Assisted by her daughter, who enchantingly presented the activity. ‘Can you draw a PIGGLY POG?’ It was quite amazing to see how your creativity can be activated by a couple of seemingly silly words.
This is definitely a book to share with your kids. So, what are you waiting for? Go and find your imaginations!!!!
Suggested read aloud to 3+ Recommended for a beginner reader.
Published by New Frontier Publishing, 2018
