Author | A. F. Harrold |
---|---|
Illustrator | Emily Gravett |
Cover artist | Emily Gravett |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's novel |
Published | October 2014 (Bloomsbury) |
Publication place | England |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 220 |
ISBN | 9781408852460 |
OCLC | 887936791 |
The Imaginary is a 2014 British children's novel written by A. F. Harrold and illustrated by Emily Gravett. It is about a small girl, Amanda, and her imaginary friend, Rudger. An anime film adaptation by Studio Ponoc has been announced. Initially set for a Q3 2022 release, [1] [2] it was later delayed to 15 December 2023 due to production issues. [3] [4]
A review in the Booklist of The Imaginary wrote "Though not quite as innovative as it might be, this is nevertheless a winningly whimsical celebration of the imagination, beautifully enhanced by both black-and-white and full-color illustrations by Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Gravett." [5] and, in a starred review, Kirkus Reviews found it "Wonderfully entertaining." [6]
The Imaginary has also been reviewed by The New York Times , [7] the School Library Journal , [8] The Horn Book Magazine, [9] Publishers Weekly , [10] Library Media Connection, [11] Common Sense Media, [12] Reading Time , [13] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books , [14] the Financial Times , [15] and The Guardian (child review). [16]
It was nominated for the 2016 Carnegie Medal, [17] the 2016 Kate Greenaway Medal, [18] and won the 2015 British Book Design and Production Awards Children's Trade Book Award, [19] and the 2015 British Book Design and Production Awards Book of the Year Award. [19]
The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936, is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), who calls it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing". CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award.
Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 1999 to 2001, he was the inaugural British Children's Laureate. He is a patron of the Association of Illustrators.
Raymond Redvers Briggs was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story The Snowman, a book without words whose cartoon adaptation is televised and whose musical adaptation is staged every Christmas.
The Carnegie Medal for Illustration is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which inherited it from the Library Association. CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award, though their sponsorship and the removal of Greenaway’s name from the medal proved controversial.
Chris Riddell is a South African-born English illustrator and occasional writer of children's books and a political cartoonist for the Observer. He has won three Kate Greenaway Medals – the British librarians' annual award for the best-illustrated children's book, and two of his works were commended runners-up, a distinction dropped after 2002.
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Oliver Brendan Jeffers is an Australian-born Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer. He went to the integrated secondary school Hazelwood College, then graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001. He relocated back to Northern Ireland in the early 2020s after a spell living and working in Brooklyn.
Borka: The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers is a children's picture book written and illustrated by John Burningham and published by Jonathan Cape in 1963. It features a goose born without feathers, whose mother knits a jersey that helps in some ways.
Mr Gumpy's Outing is a children's picture book written and illustrated by John Burningham and published by Jonathan Cape in 1970. According to library catalogue summaries, "All the animals went for a boat ride with Mr Gumpy. Then the boat got too heavy ..."; "Mr Gumpy accepts more and more riders on his boat until the inevitable occurs." Burningham won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, a similar award by a magazine for a picture books published in the United States.
Helen Gillian Oxenbury is an English illustrator and writer of children's picture books. She lives in North London. She has twice won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration and been runner-up four times. For the 50th anniversary of that Medal (1955–2005) her 1999 illustrated edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was named one of the top ten winning works.
Emily Gravett is an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. For her debut book Wolves published in 2005 and Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears published three years later, she won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal recognising the year's best-illustrated British children's book.
Dogger is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes, published by The Bodley Head in 1977.
Freya Blackwood is an Australian illustrator and special effects artist. She worked on special effects for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy from 2001 to 2003 and won the Kate Greenaway Medal for British children's book illustration in 2010.
This Is Not My Hat is a 2012 American children's picture book by the author and illustrator Jon Klassen. The story is told through the unreliable narration of a little fish, who has stolen a hat from a big fish and how the big fish reacts to the theft. It is a thematic follow-up to I Want My Hat Back (2011) and was meant to be a more literal sequel until Klassen took a suggestion to change which animals were in the story. The book was well received by critics, who praised its dark or ironic humor which could only be understood by comparing the words of the little fish's narration against the events of the illustrations. In addition to several positive reviews, Klassen received the 2013 Caldecott Medal and the 2014 Kate Greenaway Medal, making This is Not My Hat the first book to win both awards. This is Not My Hat was also a commercial success.
The Savage is a 2008 graphic novel by David Almond. It is about a boy called Blue who, to cope with his father's death starts drawing and writing a comic book story about a wild boy living in the woods..
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend is a 2014 picture book by Dan Santat. The book won the 2015 Caldecott Award and tells the story of an imaginary friend in search of a child. This is the third book Santat has written, following The Guild of Geniuses (2004) and Sidekicks (2011), and his second picture book.
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Matilda's Cat is a 2012 children's picture book by Emily Gravett. The book is about Matilda, a girl dressed in a ginger-striped cat costume, who attempts to involve her similarly ginger-striped cat in various activities to no avail but then eventually snuggles up with the cat in bed.
The Imaginary is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Yoshiyuki Momose from a screenplay written by Yoshiaki Nishimura, who also produced the film, and animated by Studio Ponoc. Based on A.F. Harrold's 2014 novel of the same name, it is Studio Ponoc's first full-length animated film since Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017). The Japanese voice cast includes Kokoro Terada, Rio Suzuki, Sakura Ando, Riisa Naka, Takayuki Yamada, Atsuko Takahata and Issey Ogata. The narrative follows Rudger, an Imaginary. He and his creator, Amanda, spend their days delving into adventures crafted by her vibrant imagination, but after a terrible accident separates them, Rudger is forced to confront an inexorable fate to which all Imaginaries are subject: dissolution with human forgetfulness.
Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite! is a 2013 children's picture book by Nick Bromley and illustrated by Nicola O'Byrne. It is about a crocodile that disrupts a narrator's reading of The Ugly Duckling.
For all its flirtations with danger, "The Imaginary" is most affecting and lovely when describing powerful relationships..
The premise of the Imaginaries is unveiled nicely .. Gravett's illustrations provide excellent support for the story..
Harrold turns a gimmicky premise into a nuanced exploration of the relationship between imagination and memory..
Part horror story, part gentle parable, Harrold's story moves along at a steady clip, thanks to some very tense sequences and Gravett's typically polished illustrations, which feature spikes of lurid color and haunting imagery.
Harold [sic] and Gravett, British author and illustrator, tell a charming story through descriptive language and vivid artwork.
This is truly a one-of-a-kind adventure that will captivate kids -- and remind parents of the importance of free time for imaginative play.
This book is a perfect package, with Gravett's illustrations and Harrold's rich language. Highly recommended.
By turns scary and funny, touching without being sentimental, and beautifully illustrated by Emily Gravett, The Imaginary is a delight from start to finish.
When reading Imaginary, I found it was scary at parts but the story shows a real friendship between a girl and her imagination.