The Imaginary by A. F. Harrold is one of those children’s books that even adults love. Everything from the plot to the characters and even the front cover drew us in. When you read the very first paragraph you become hooked. No one can resist a good imaginary friend story, but they become even more gripping when you’re faced with a bad guy who has to eat the Imaginaries – purely so he can continue to see his own imaginary friend!
We have read enough books to know that stories like that of The Imaginary don’t come around often. It’s something we’d never seen done before and while reading it you will experience every emotion possible. While the prospect of someone trying to eat your friend might seem weird at first, the reasoning behind it soon becomes clear.
When we were reading The Imaginary we were completely taken into another world and we didn’t want to return to real life until all 200 pages were finished. However we did regrettably have to put it down two or three times in order to get on with daily life but unlike some books it was easy to get back into – when we began reading again it was as though we had never stopped!
With the interesting plot, characters and Emily Gravett’s illustrations it’s clear that this book will be read and loved for many years to come and it is definitely one of our favourite children’s books that we have read this year.
If you buy your child one book for Christmas we’d urge it to be this one. We think it’s perfect for kids (and adults) of any age and is great for fans of Roald Dahl. Buy your copy of The Imaginary from Amazon here (RRP: £12.99).
