Any conversation about children’s books is going to feature a couple of names at some point.
Oliver Jeffers. One of the very best picture book authors/Illustrators in the whole widest world. We have a complete library, and my book-absorbing 8yr old STILL regularly revisits the astonishingly beautiful ‘Stuck’ and ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’ on a regular basis.
And Eoin Colfer – the man who gave the world Artemis Fowl. Quite simply one of the best series of books for young people/juniors/teens/grown-ups ever. Also happens to be one of the hardest to describe and still sound interesting… (Science Fiction Fantasy about a kind of tech-geeky fairy underworld and a teenager who is a master criminal but emotional gold inside? Yes, I’d probably have passed too…)
But a brand new book launched today has had me squeaking all over the place with excitement.
It’s only the two of them. TOGETHER. Eoin Colfer wrote Imaginary Fred – and Oliver Jeffers has illustrated it.
Imaginary Fred. Oh me oh my, the joy and delight!
I couldn’t wait to read it, my expectations were high as I opened the first page… and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s subtle, clever, deliciously gentle and heartfelt… and leaves you with a smile as you turn back to the first page to read it again. The illustrations are typically quirky and detailed, gorgeously rounding out the story and making the book a wonderful, wonderful read.
The story is one of an imaginary friend – Fred – who floats like a feather as he waits for a little electricity, or luck, or even magic, to enable him to appear to a lonely child who needs him. But it’s a sad fact that imaginary friends get left behind, and fade back to floating like feathers to wait for their next friend to need them for a while.
All Fred wants is a special forever-friendship to keep for himself.
It’s gorgeous – and as well as being a comforting read for any child with an imaginary friend, there’s a deeper message that applies just as much to relationships with favourite toys and modern child friendships built over the internet, as well as ‘real life’ friends too.
6 October 2015
Mine wasn’t a friend, she was called Witchy, and she used to grab my toes when I was in bed. I also had Judgey, Chewy & Chummy. No idea who they were or what they looked like!
6 October 2015
I had 2 imaginary friends, they were called Ponge and Pogwog (I/my parents have no idea where the names came from-this was over 35 years ago). I don’t remember knowing what they looked like but I used to play schools and mummies & daddies with them. I did used to talk to them (probably better than being bossed around by my older sister!!) ? Xx
8 October 2015
My imaginary friend is called Susie, she listens to my worries and is very pretty
9 October 2015
Happy Harriet – she told me jokes and wore silly clothes
14 October 2015
Dave, he uses mine and my husbands joint account to buy shoes and handbags, and loves opening wine!!
24 October 2015
My imaginary friend is called Brian and he leaves dirty mugs on the kitchen counters
28 October 2015
i imagined that my teddy was real. he kept my belonging safe and told me if someone had been snooping
28 October 2015
My imaginary friend was called Gary and he liked to eat chocolate on toast for breakfast and go skipping in the woods
29 October 2015
I really can’t remember what I called her, but my imaginary friend was very naughty and I used to blame her for making me do naughty things. She was younger than me but liked everything I did.
5 November 2015
My imaginary friends used to live in our outdoor shed- would always blame’jemima’for making me late or come home covered in mud??wish she was still here…..????