“The man who has no imagination has no wings.” ~Muhammad Ali
Tuesday was my birthday and I imagined the numbers in my age were transposed. I immediately felt younger. I bounced around like a kid. I had more energy than usual. My mind was sharp, and my tongue was froth with wit. It was a magical day.
That evening when I looked into the mirror, I no longer saw that fresh young face I had worn all day long. I saw my mother! I guess that was her birthday gift to me – to carry on the family genes. Age happens, but imagination rocks!
Without an imagination, you’re stuck. You have no place to go – nothing to fill the empty spaces of your day. Think what this world would be like if we didn’t have “imaginators” like Walt Disney, Marie Curie, Steve Jobs, Harriet Tubman, Albert Einstein, Georgia O’Keeffe, Benjamin Franklin …
Everyone needs an imagination. From early on, children’s minds need to be stimulated to help them develop their creativity and play. How can this be accomplished? The picture book!
The picture book is an amazing tool. The pictures, words, sounds, characters, and story all work together to expand a child’s imagination and play. The more books children are exposed to the wider their world becomes. Children begin to develop language skills and make connections between what they see and hear. And don’t forget the emotional bond derived from sitting in the lap of a loved one, sharing the whole experience of reading a book together.
Here are some great picture books, both old and new, to get you and your child started on the road to imagination.

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Press Here by Hervé Tullet
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss
Little Cloud by Eric Carle
The Hello, Goodbye Window written by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Roxaboxen written by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
Tuesday by David Wiesner
Flotsam by David Wiesner
Iggy Peck, Architect written by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
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