Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In sometimes rhyming quatrains that each begin "If only..." and end with "Imagine!" Tognolini channels the wishes of children. Some desires hint at real-life circumstances ("If only Google could show me a map/ Of where to find work for my darling dad"), while others read as more fanciful ("If only me and my animal friends/ Could do a jaguar roar, join a singing bird band"). Orecchia draws a gaggle of children with various skin tones, while stylized elements form whimsical collages--an airplane carrying gold-filled coffers, a machine that turns tanks and nuclear cooling towers into flowers and birds--in a book whose subject matter pivots rapidly between the serious and the buoyant. Ages 5--8. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--Italian children's poet Bruno Tognolini presents verses of hope and wonder, skillfully translated into English by Denise Muir. The format is simple: each spread contains a quatrain beginning with the words "If only" and ending with the imperative: "Imagine!" Many of the lines feature precise rhyme, and those that don't still flow seamlessly with rhythm and sound, proving the skill of the translator and the poet alike. While ranging from the benign to the profound, the vague to the hyperspecific (a wish for a meal of calamari with grandpa stands out), each pondering could potentially be the true thoughts of a child--albeit a fairly precocious one. Likewise, the jumping from topic to topic mimics a child's curious and spontaneous mind. Unfortunately, in some of these cases the juxtaposition can be off-putting. Serious topics, including depression, joblessness, immigrants and refugees, and climate change, are covered in stark detail; the jump back to the mundane and lighthearted is jarring. The collage-style illustrations bring to mind the childlike wonder of Eric Carle, with paper that appears textured and handmade. Illustrated children are cheerful and diverse in skin tone, and the flora and fauna are lush and colorful. Imaginative and whimsical inventions grace some pages, supporting the text in capturing a child's imagining of what a world would look like without traffic or war. VERDICT While the poetry and illustrations are artistically appealing, the content and structure may require scaffolding and further explanation. Still, this book could be appreciated by the right audience for one-on-one sharing.--Clara Hendricks
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
First published in Italy in 2021, this picture book offers 24 short rhyming passages describing children's hopes and dreams. Solid sand-colored backgrounds allow the cheerful, colorful mixed-media paper collage illustrations to take center stage. At each vignette poem's conclusion, the exclamatory refrain "imagine!" is emphasized in enlarged font and a contrasting color. Children and adults with different skin tones and anthropomorphized animals dramatize the central metaphors of the narrative. Perhaps because of the translation by Muir, some of the verses do not rhyme well: "Give up the guns, all the bombs banished / By a bilingual chorus / Imagine!" Although the book is narrated from the perspective of children, there is still a danger that it oversimplifies solutions to traumatic events and complex issues like mental illness, immigration crises, social divisions, and unemployment. What is most troubling is the inconsistent tone resulting from a haphazard mixing of serious topics with such light fare as wanting calamari for lunch. For example, sandwiched between a poem wishing away traffic noise and another about having pirates over for dinner is a lament about "adult wars" in the Middle East. The abrupt shifts in content may entertain some readers or may be jarring and confusing. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A picture book with a good premise but one whose execution needs to be reimagined. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
