Imagine a Night
Grade 4 Up-Magical realism permeates Gonsalves's large acrylic paintings, and they are essential to the lyrical text. For "imagine a night when-you can hear a farmer play his fields to sleep," the artist depicts a man playing a fiddle on a porch in front of a field of sunflowers-but no, the flowers have human faces, leafy bodies, and green-gloved hands, and they are bowing their heads in sleep. A painting of children riding their bikes up a flight of stairs accompanies "imagine a night when you might find that gravity doesn't work quite as you expected." A girl walking in a church cloister suddenly looks over her shoulder and discovers that she's not alone, as the pointed church windows become hooded monks forming a procession. In the back of the book, each painting is repeated in miniature with its actual name. This is a fascinating foray into the imagination and a fine discussion starter for older children. For another look at things that are not what they seem, pair it with Guy Billout's Something's Not Quite Right (Godine, 2002).Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CTCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.