The Incurable Imagination by Paul Russell - OPTIONAL

The Incurable Imagination  by Paul Russell, illustrated by Aśka. PICTURE BOOK. EK (Exisle), 2019. $18. 9781925335972

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Audrey is different than other kids. She paints ogres instead of her family, and sings about a table that runs away to join a circus instead of black sheep. When she starts school, she is diagnosed with a serious condition known as imagination, the worst case that her teacher has ever seen. The alphabet becomes a bunch of vegetables, numbers turn into aliens. And it turns out that the condition is contagious. Soon imagination spreads to other students, and then teachers and others in the community.

Examples of kids or teachers using their imagination during a read aloud, or on the playground, or in science class are great fun. Of course, such creativity would make learning fun and engaging. The examples of imagination in the community are more problematic. Would you like being offered only "imaginary sweets" in thanks for your purchase, for example?  Also, with a world reeling from a global pandemic, comparing such a positive trait with a contagious disease may be confusing if not inappropriate. The message that an imagination can improve your life is generally positive, but this presentation is a bit problematic.

P.K. Foster, MLS, school librarian