The Imaginoodles

A nervous hedgehog meets a rambunctious chipmunk in the inviting, exhilarating, laugh-out-loud Imaginoodles, about the power of imagination to overcome just about anything.

Henry is a shy hedgehog who, whenever he is startled or frightened--"FWOOMP!"--curls into a prickly protective ball. Not surprisingly, he prefers storybook adventures to the real-world kind. When he meets his exuberant new neighbor, Chester the chipmunk, he is not prepared for the antics that await. Chester invites Henry to play. "So, what do you want to do? White water rafting?! Deep-sea diving?! Bobsledding?!" Overwhelmed, Henry listens to Chester wax poetic about the power of imagination. While the "wizard Chester" brandishes his magical stick against a fantastical, vividly hued background of castles and mountains, Henry's dry commentary, shown in neutrally colored inset panels, provides comic contrast. While Chester sees "the wise and powerful Smartacus," Henry sees a garden gnome. Finally, Chester has had enough: "Don't you want to go places and see things you've never seen before?" Henry admits that he does, but he's scared, and Chester proves to be a true friend: "Imagination... is about being silly and not caring what anyone else thinks."

Ordinary People Change the World series creator and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos uses sharp, clean lines and bright colors in this comic-book-style picture book. Eliopoulos cleverly uses panels to distinguish the imagined from the real, to enhance the humor, and to focus the eye on important and emotionally expressive moments. For all the children who think they would rather "read a book... instead" of adventuring, Eliopoulos (and Chester) opens a wonderful world: imagination turned to action. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor

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