Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Sunday, March 15, 2015

The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold...

How I Heard About It:  I found this book while browsing at my local book story last weekend.  The cover caught my attention.  After scanning through the book, I liked the format, and thought I would give it a try.  

What It Is About:  Rudger and Amanda are best friends.  They do everything and go everywhere together.  This is common for young children, but the difference here is that Rudger is Amanda's imaginary friend.  While these two best friends are spending their time together, there is an evil man lurking around trying to "gather up" all the imaginary friends.  His name is Mr. Bunting and he isn't a very nice man.  After Amanda gets hurt and ends up in the hospital, Rudger is on his own and makes it his mission to get back to Amanda.  He also needs to stay away from Mr. Bunting and is able to do this with the help of a group of imaginary friends that he meets.  He also spends some time with a new friend as their imaginary, but his major goal is to reunite with Amanda.    

What I Thought Of It:  I have mixed feelings on this story.  There were parts of it that I just loved.  The relationship between the "real" kids and the "imaginary" kids was wonderful and would be related to by many readers.  I wasn't so sure about the parts with Mr. Bunting and his mission in the story.  At times it felt like it didn't fit.  Overall though the story was engaging and was an easy and entertaining read.

Who Should Read It:  The format of the book isn't too tough, but some of the content might be disturbing for young readers.  I would definitely say that the child should be in fourth grade or up to read and be able to handle to book.  It could make for an interesting read aloud, but the teacher would want to pre-read the book to make sure they are comfortable with all aspects of the story.  I'm glad I bought this book off the shelf and know that I will find readers that will enjoy it.  Happy Reading!

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars

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