Imagine - Hardcover

Vivian, Bart

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1885223722 ISBN 13: 9781885223722

Publisher: Aladdin/Beyond Words, 1998

Synopsis

Parenting expert, popular speaker, and bestselling author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee returns with a revelatory new book for parents of teenagers.

In The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, author Wendy Mogel introduced a new approach to parenting, one that drew its fundamental principles from Jewish wisdom and emphasized resisting overprotection of our children. With its combination of insight and practicality, the book became a word-of-mouth success and made Mogel a much sought after speaker.

Now, in the long-awaited follow-up to her perennial seller, Mogel addresses the question she is asked most frequently: how to be a parent in a culture that breeds anxiety and fragility in older children and teens by placing too high a value on perfection and success. Applying concepts from mussar (a Jewish system of character refinement that focuses on ethical behavior) and other teachings, Mogel shows parents how to stop overindulging or pressuring their children and instead focus on developing sound judgment. By practicing composure, detachment, acceptance, moderation, integrity, authority, and delight—the traits covered in the seven chapters—parents will not only uncover an appreciative and reflective relationship with their children, but will also set an example of the adults they want them to become.

An important and inspiring book, The Blessing of a B Minus encourages parents to see beyond the drama of teenage crises and the competitiveness of college applications to the goal of raising resilient, optimistic adults.

About this title

About the Author

Bart Vivian was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where his parents encouraged his imagination to flourish at an early age through his drawing. He later received a BFA in visual communication from the University of Kansas. Over the years he was worked as a freelance illustrator and muralist in several states and continues to work on his art. He especially loves to share his drawings, paintings, and stories with his daughter, Adalyn. Mr. Vivian lives and works in the Chicago area.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-Children are encouraged to dream big in this ambitious attempt to capitalize on the possibilities of the imagination. A double-page spread shows a youngster in a realistic situation, illustrated with a black-and-white sketch; when the page is turned, a full-color painting depicts that child's dream. For example, a girl staring at a toy ballerina turns into a real dancer. A boy looking at a fire truck imagines that he is a firefighter climbing down a ladder with a child in his arms. The black-and-white sketches are similar in style to the work of Chris Van Allsburg. The tidy treatment of boxed text opposite a full-page illustration works well. Unfortunately, the bland narrative offers little support to the carefully crafted pictures. Perhaps those looking for affirmation books will be captivated by "Believe that no fear...is too BIG to face" or "Believe that you can overcome...all obstacles in your path," but most librarians will want to wait until this artist develops his talent as a writer or collaborates with someone who crafts words to match his artwork.
Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 6^-8. Alternating monochrome and color spreads captioned with brief inspirational thoughts, Vivian invites daydreamers to dream higher: a tree house could become a castle; a suspended log, a tightrope; a toy sailboat, a great ship. Using a grainy texture to soften edges and surfaces, Vivian depicts objects with sculptured realism; his human figures are less expertly done, but as they are generally positioned so that the viewer looks over their shoulders, the focus is less on them than on what they see. Although he pushes the envelope a bit with his last pair of pictures, in which a child imagines herself an armored woman facing a dragon, his scenarios are hackneyed ones--a king in a castle, a ballerina, a heroic fireman--that are unlikely to create new possibilities for children; still, along with more imaginative flights, such as Chris Van Allsburg's Mysteries of Harris Burdick (1984) or Alison Lester's Imagine (1990), this could be used as a springboard for story creation. John Peters

Edition details

• Publisher: Aladdin/Beyond Words
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1885223722
• ISBN 13: 9781885223722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Vivian Bart
• Number of pages: 32