Henry's Amazing Imagination by Nancy L. Carlson

From the Publisher

Henry's a little mouse . . . with a big imagination.

Henry loves show and tell, because he can tell the class about his neighbor's pet dinosaur, the snowman he built that's as big as his house, and the alien that landed in his yard. But when his classmates start asking questions-and call him a fibber-Henry has to find a new outlet for his stories.

With a laugh-out-loud text and brightly colored illustrations, Nancy Carlson shows young readers how writing and illustrating their own stories can be a rewarding use of their amazing imaginations.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2

Henry, a young mouse, is the star of show and tell, courtesy of his fantastic stories. As he tells his classmates about the snowman as big as a house, the neighbor's pet dinosaur, and the alien that landed in his yard, readers see not only the listeners' rapt and amazed expressions, but also the subjects of Henry's tales, which have come to life in large bubbles emanating from his head. When dawning skepticism leads one of the students to accuse Henry of fibbing, the teacher suggests that he use his prodigious imagination to write stories-with the important assurance that it's OK not to know how to spell all the words, along with an invitation to include illustrations. Henry's stories really take off: fire-breathing dragons, breathtaking mountaintops, rockets to the moon; but at sharing time, he tells the class about his family's trip to the cheese store. "Now that Henry was using all his imagination to write stories...show and tell was really boring." He wants to wow his classmates, but he doesn't want to be a fibber. Happily, he comes up with the perfect solution-he reads his stories aloud. With its picture-perfect plot and vibrant illustrations, this book is a joy to read.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

Kirkus Reviews

Henry's imagination has a way of shanghaiing the truth during show-and-tell. He regales his classmates with fish stories and other implausibilities, like the alien that dropped in for a visit. Vivid, yes, but the students call him on it: "Aliens don't land in backyards. They land at Disney World." Fibber! But when darling, jug-eared Henry is forced to stick to the facts at show-and-tell . . . "We went to the store and bought cheese. Here is the cheese. We went home and made a cheese sandwich." His teacher counsels a different path: His stories deserve to be on paper as works of fiction. Now Henry reads his stuff before the class, and a performance artist is born; what to believe is up for grabs, but entertainment is where it's at. Carlson's point is wrapped in sly humor and emphatic colors, giving cues as to how a time-honored brand of storytelling-the great tall tale-ought to be delivered. Readers will realize along with Henry's classmates that brightening someone's day with a stretch of the imagination is a gift. (Picture book. 6-8)

Product Details

• ISBN: 0670062960
  
• ISBN-13: 9780670062966
• Format: Hardcover, 32pp
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Pub. Date: July 2008
• Sales Rank: 285,410
• Age Range: 5 to 8