Books for the Imagination for Different Ages

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Today I am going to share some fun books that bring out the imagination in the reader and require some imagination to really understand. There is even one about letting one's imagination go wild. These books are various ages and we will look at them from the youngest to the oldest. The first book is a wordless book by Alison Jay called Bee & Me. 

In this story a young girl is reading a book in her apartment when a bee comes in the window. The girl ends up taking care of the bee and sets it free. The bee returns during a thunderstorm. The bee stays with the girl and they become friends. The bee grows to be big enough for the girl to fly on its back. They search for flowers for the bee and more. It is a fantastical book that teaches children to use their imagination and to not be so afraid of bees. The final page in the book teaches about the struggle bees are currently having worldwide and recommends some flowers to plant to attract bees. 

This book is for 2- to 5-year-olds. This is the perfect age for wordless books as well. It allows them to make the story their own and learn about story telling. This book shows the importance of bees in our world as well as entertaining the child and using one's imagination to think of the bee as a friend and being human size. (For a book for adults and older kids about what to plant in a garden to attract bees check out this review.)

Our next book is Triangle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. The recommended ages for this book is 5- to 9-year-olds. This book is about Triangle and how he was to play a joke on Square. Triangle lives where there are triangles and square lives among squares. Triangle walks past various shapes to get to Square's square house. Square gets upset and takes revenge. Each takes advantage of the other's fears. It is a fun story of two friends learning how jokes can hurt the other's feelings and also adds a bit about shapes in there. The illustrations are rather simple since they live in a land of shapes.
Our next book is a tale of a grandfather and granddaughter. It is a tall tale and very imaginative. It is Skyfishing by Gideon Sterer and illustrated by Poly Bernatene. It is being released next week.

When her grandfather has to move to the city to live with his son and his family, he misses fishing every day. His granddaughter (the narrator) shows him how to use his imagination and enjoy fishing from the balcony. They catch all sorts of creative "fish". The story is fun and colorful. The entire city becomes fish and sea life for these creative family members.

I love that the granddaughter teaches the grandfather to imagine. Together they have a wonderful time and it illustrates the importance of family time with extended family. It is also a lesson in making the most of a situation. There are so many messages in this story and it has fun colorful pictures. 

Our final book today is for 7- to 11-year-olds. It is a chapter book. It is Henry and the Chalk Dragon by Jennifer Trafton and illustrated by Benjamin Schipper. This book makes you think about what happens when you put your own creativeness out there--whether in words, art, singing, etc. Henry is a child who loves to draw and creates his own little world in his bedroom. There he has chalkboard paint on his door and can draw whatever he pleases. His latest drawing is a dragon because Henry likes to be a knight. He even has a homemade suit of armor made from his raincoat, tinfoil and a milk carton. One day his dragon disappears off the door and causes all sorts of havoc. It ends up at school because the dragon wants to be part of the art show for National Vegetable Week. Henry and his friends have to fight the dragon who can change into the other drawings Henry has drawn and go on some of the adventures Henry made up in his world. 

There are many messages in this book about artwork and being brave and showing one's own talents to the world. There are also messages about how we lose some of our own creativeness when we grow up because we think the world doesn't care. This book has so many strong messages and is a must read for everyone. It is also the perfect book to show why our schools need art and music classes and it is not all about teaching to a test. 

So I hope you will delve into your imaginations and your child's and check out these books!! I know I have enjoyed them.