Imagine Hardcover – Picture Book, September 25, 2018

I took a class from Dr. Herrera almost 30 years ago on Chicano Music and another class on Chicano History. He was one of the best professors at Fresno State in the early 1990's. I was happy to see his book was available for purchase . My 5 year old loved the book. The illustrations are great and the poetry is fantastic.

This is a beautiful book, with fabulous illustrations. I purchased it to read to my son's 4th grade class. The students were fascinated by story, prose and artwork. It has become one of my children's favorites!

I may be biased, but this book is GORGEOUS. Lush nature scenes coupled with skilled print-making techniques, rich textures, and evocative text turn dreams into vivid color. Reach out and touch the world brought to life in this book.

This book is amazing. It presents an inspirational story, and brings diversity to the classroom.

Great book for my daughter's class

@kidlitexchange #partner•The 21st U.S. Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera, tells his autobiography in poetic form. Herrera’s parents were migrant workers, from Mexico, who worked on farms in California. The story focuses on Herrera's boyhood; Places he went, objects he cherished, chores he helped with, and words he learned. Each memory ends with the word: “imagine.” The final stanza, which tells of Herrera as Poet Laureate, ends with: “imagine what you could do.” He writes of learning words in English, and putting them down on paper; the illustrator, Lauren Castillo, uses wonderful grade school cursive in her illustration of Herrera's writing process. This simple and relatable autobiographical book exemplifies “own voices.”•Lauren Castillo, Caldecott Honor winner (for Nana in the City), illustrates using pen and foam printing. The monoprint images convey a lovely old timey quality. The color palette is mainly warm tans and browns and jewel-toned blues and greens. Striking yellow and red are used to depict objects of importance. Something about the illustrations - the warm colors or bold black lines - is reminiscent of Marc Simont’s illustrations for A Tree is Nice. The dust jacket is a rendition of an interior spread with Herrera standing (rather than lying) under the moon and stars. The cover underneath is a rich dark blue with a scattering of magical gold stars - make sure you take a peek!•The verso page in the third spread depicts a red wagon (not wheelbarrow) surrounded by chickens. I wonder if Castillo did this as a ode to another famous Hispanic American poet William Carlos Williams? I like the idea of a toy wagon in place a wheelbarrow to symbolize Herrera’s youth.•Suitable for ages 5-8. Recommended to fans of Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People (Monica Brown), A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Melissa Sweet), and Drum Dream Girl (Margarita Engle). Add this book to a collection of poetry books about poets alongside Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets (Kwame Alexander) and Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson)... as well as The Dreamer (Pam Munoz Ryan).

IMAGINE is a gorgeous autobiographical poem with accompanying artwork and an inspirational tone. Herrera was the U.S Poet Laureate and the son of migrant farmers. He tells his story of growing up and reaching this laudable post through a lovely poem. Each page features a scene from his life growing up, beginning with "If I..." and ending with an invitation to imagine what the reader could do. The poem/book discusses the difficulties of moving, of not speaking English, and of turning to words, leading to his appointment as U.S. Poet Laureate.What I loved: The illustrations here accompany the poem perfectly and are softly elegant, bringing the scenes to life with plenty of color and details. Young readers will find the text quite inspirational, as it reveals the many difficulties Herrera has overcome, inviting them to imagine their own difficulties and how they can overcome them. This would be a great book for a classroom, where racism/culture could be discussed as well as poetry and this position. This book is also a great #ownvoices read that certainly makes it worthwhile to experience. While it is autobiographical, it is not weighted down by facts but rather buoyed by them in poetry.Final verdict: A great addition for the classroom or library, this lovely poem brings an inspirational autobiography to life with invitations to the reader to imagine and reach their own potential. Gorgeous illustrations accompanying the text have appeal for elementary schoolers of all ages.Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I love the concept of this book, especially the many different activities that you can do with it as an educator of elementary or middle school. This story has different prompts that start with "If I...." and end with "imagine". each page turn has different scenarios that children can identify with. Some touch on learning a new language, moving to a new school, and showing the persistence to try new things.This book can be used in small groups or as a class. You could give prompts with each page turn as a warm up reflection or an actual writing prompt that students can finish the "what if" for themselves.