Imagination

The Swallow

In 1960s Toronto, two girls retreat to their attics to escape the loneliness and isolation of their lives. Polly lives in a house bursting at the seams with people, while Rose is often left alone by her busy parents. Polly is a down-to-earth dreamer with a wild imagination and an obsession with ghosts; Rose is a quiet, ethereal waif with a sharp tongue. Despite their differences, both girls spend their days feeling invisible and seek solace in books and the cozy confines of their respective attics. But soon they discover they aren’t alone–they’re actually neighbors, sharing a wall. They develop an unlikely friendship, and Polly is ecstatic to learn that Rose can actually see and talk to ghosts. Maybe she will finally see one too! But is there more to Rose than it seems? Why does no one ever talk to her? And why does she look so… ghostly? When the girls find a tombstone with Rose’s name on it in the cemetery and encounter an angry spirit in her house who seems intent on hurting Polly, they have to unravel the mystery of Rose and her strange family… before it’s too late.

Granpa

Adorable Granpa gamely nurses his granddaughter’s dolls, eats her pretend strawberry-flavored ice cream, takes her tobogganing in the snow, and falls in step with her imaginary plans to captain a ship to Africa—like all good grandfathers should. Winner of the Kate Maschler Award, this poignant tale of friendship and loss is one children will long remember.

The Way To The Zoo

What if you noticed a door in your bedroom that wasn’t there before? And what if it led to a passage to the zoo? You might want to take just one little bear back to your room with you, or maybe just all the smaller animals. But how could you resist the penguins and the tigers and the birds? In this classic child’s fantasy featuring John Burningham’s delightfully expressive artwork, an unlocked door leads to pandemonium — and one little girl’s formidable voice reins in an entire menagerie.

Small Blue And The Deep Dark Night

When Small Blue wakes up in the middle of the night, she thinks of hungry things and warty things and hairy things! But are they really as scary as they seem? With the help and comfort of Big Brown, Small Blue slowly begins to imagine fun things in the dark instead of scary ones.

Loula and the Sister Recipe

Loula’s three brothers, the Rotten Pirate Triplets, don’t want to play with her. “Brothers,” mutters Loula, “the worst invention in the world.” She decides what she really needs is a sister, one just like her. So naturally, she asks her parents to make one for her. Only, it’s not that easy. Her father explains, “Making a sister is . . . well, it’s like making a cake. You need the right ingredients.” To make a sister, they say, you need a papa and a mama, butterflies in the stomach, a full moon, a candlelit supper, kisses and hugs and chocolate.

Hello, Moon!

The boy asks the moon if it enjoys some of his favorite activities–and they share in some, like pretending to be pirates, together. But then the boy starts to think big. Can the moon see the city? Can the moon see the whole wide world? What are the moon’s friends like? Soon the boy grows tired, says good night to the moon, and falls asleep.

Paul Meets Bernadette

Paul is a fish who used to go around in circles. He made big circles and little circles. He circled from left to right and from right to left. He circled from top to bottom and from bottom to top. What else was there to do? Until one day Bernadette drops in and shows Paul that there is a whole world out there, right outside his bowl, with so many things to see. A banana-shaped boat! A blue elephant with a spoutlike trunk (be quiet when she’s feeding her babies)! A lovely lunetta butterfly, with tortoise-shell rims!