Imagine a Day

This is the second book by Rob that I have collected and like the first, it is fun and creative.

It is rare to find such a perfect combination of poetry and picture. Rob Gonsalves, a Canadian artist whose art evokes Escher and David Wiesner, pairs up with Sarah Thomson to create imaginative worlds of astonishing beauty and optimism. Gonsalves' painting of children walking across narrow wooden planks from skyscrapers to a picket fence in the garden are encapsulated in Thomson's "Imagine a day/...when you forget/ how to fall." And the last painting sums up the entire book: a library in which the books on the shelves are doors that open onto other worlds: "Imagine a day.../when a book swings open/ on silent hinges/ and a place you're never seen before/ welcomes you home." Truly a book for all ages.

This book is one of the greatest books I've read and reviewed this year! In its poetic simplistic sense, each verse brings new meaning and clear thought to a basic 3-4 word line. Along with the illustrations, done in an almost salvadore dali method, the pictures are created amongst themselves. A tall bridge slowly becomes people standing on each other helping build the bridge. A man studying a map becomes children diving off into a part of the map and flying over beautiful land. My descritions don't do justice to the beautiful artwork expressed inside these pages. Superb artwork by Rob Gonsalves! Taken from the book on one of my favorite pages... imagine a day..... when roots drink up rivers, twigs tangle in clouds, and a tree is a ladder between earth and air. This is a must read for children and will also be enjoyed by adults.

The absolutely tremendous illustrations make this book interesting to all ages...especially adults. We keep it on the coffee table and company of all ages pick it up to get swept away by the imaginative book.

If you liked 'Imagine a Night,' you'll like 'Imagine a Day.' I like them both. The artwork is well displayed (although I hate when art is dissected into a two-page layout and wish the 'powers that be' would just make the book BIGGER to accomodate a one artwork per page layout . . . but that's my personal peeve and most readers don't seem to care or notice.) Gentle and wonderful introduction to surreal art. Would recommend it for children or adults. It makes one wish for one of those oversize comprehensive and complete art books solely on Rob Gonsalves.