The Imaginary: Coming soon to Netflix Hardcover – March 3, 2015

Received this book in my child’s Prime book box and WOW. I loved this book, and I found myself tearing up (sobbing) at the end of the story. Such a great reminder to try and cherish childhood and that sometimes as adults we are very caught up in our own problems. I highly recommend this book. It has a bit of a “shock” factor or scary aspect that kept my son SO interested and had enough nostalgia in it to pull at my heart strings. Kudos to the author as well as the illustrator.

As a part of amazons book club for kids I really am excited that I can continue to encourage reading! My grand daughter loves the surprise mail addressed to her. Kids just love getting mail and packages.

This story has many many unfamiliar words for a secon grader. My GS reads chapter each night with help, but still a little advanced. Story is a little hard to follow for fun reading, but good to challenge him.

El libro es muy bonito. Ahora espero que mi hija se enamore de la historia.

Love the story very much. It is poignant, scary and at the same time super cute. I really recommend the book!

I read this aloud to my 8 & 10 year olds. It was a page-turner, and I liked the theme of imagination, but I have to say I kept wondering if this was going to get way too creepy for my kids! They liked the story so I kept reading, and luckily it was OK, but still, I probably wouldn't have picked this book.SPOILER:There is a creepy man who sucks/eats imaginaries to add years to his own life. One imaginary girl does get sucked up by him. We never do get resolution with her coming back, and everyone actually ends up forgetting her. The creepy man also has an imaginary girl friend, but this girl is super creepy too, she is basically like "death" and attacks the other imaginaries to capture them for the creepy man. She attacks the main "imaginary" character and he almost gets eaten 2 or 3, but he doesn't get eaten and escapes at the last minute each time. Even after the creepy guy puts snakes on the real little girl and she nearly gets choked to death.Just keep the creepiness in mind before just giving this book to younger kids!

I would give this book ten stars if I could! Very sad 😢book though. But still awesome!☺ Read it! 😀

Very original. Beautiful drawings. Page turner. Me and my 7 year old son LOVED reading this!

(This review was written by Year 4 Panthers Class from Heene Primary School after being gripped by this fantastic book recommended by our teacher).We thought this book was amazing! We liked how it was about things that aren’t real because it felt like we were in a different dimension with lots of other people. It was touching and different to what we have read before which made it one of the best books we have ever read! It certainly got us thinking outside the box.If you pick up this book you won’t be able to put it down. The language A.F. Harrold used is really good and Emily Gravett’s illustrations are amazing because they make the spooky pictures stand out. The writing keeps you on the edge of your seat thinking what will happen next and it creates a picture in your mind. It’s full of amazement and wonder.In the book, there’s a girl called Amanda and her imaginary friend called Rudger (not RODGER!). It might remind you of your imaginary friends (apart from adults reading the book as their imagination isn’t as good as children’s). The storyline is very exciting but was a bit sad at times (we won’t tell you why because that will ruin it!). A.F. Harrold has really thought about how parents think there is something wrong with their children when they have an imagination but there really isn’t.WARNING: some bits of the book are a bit scary so be prepared!If you like Alice in Wonderland you will love this book. This book is suited for all ages (younger children would need to be read to).As soon as you start reading it, you get so stuck into it. When you’ve finished it, you’ll be so sad there’s not more to read and you’ll want all your friends to read it too. If you go past this book and don’t buy it, you WILL regret it!We can’t imagine how A.F. Harrold came up with this story. It’s an imaginary world only for those who have enough imagination. We hope he writes a sequel or the book gets turned into a film. We absolutely loved it!P.S. Don’t worry about the Fridge. (This will make sense after you’ve read the book!)

interesting

This story about imaginary friends is one of the most beautiful and powerful children's books I have read in a long time. The Imaginary began by putting me slightly off-balance (when is it set, and where?) and from there it got even queasier. A truly horrifying pair of villains and inspired illustrations gives the book some real jump scares. One of the creepiest characters is Mr Bunting, a chubby man in a Hawaiian shirt who devours imaginary friends alive. '... he opened his mouth up, wider than any normal person would open their mouth, unhinged it almost, snake-like, and a hot breath wafted into Rudger's face. It smelt like a desert might smell, dry and reddish and rotten with spice.' Ultimately this is a story about what it must feel like to die or be dead, so parents be warned!

I bought this book along with 9-10 other books. This was among the first ones to be read by my son, niece & nephew. Need I say more.

This was such an interesting and quirky read! I loved the characters, and the storyline and I found Amanda's imaginary world fascinating.Amanda's best friend is imaginary, and lives in her closet. His name is Rudger, but everyone mistakes it for Roger. I love the mother/daughter relationship in the story, and I respected Amanda's mom for allowing her child to hold on to her imagination. There were certain moments in which Amanda was acting like a brat and it got on my nerves, but overall, she was a strong and feisty girl.Having an imaginary friend immediately made Amanda a target for the evil Mr. Bunting, who hunts imaginaries and can smell them a mile away. Mr. Bunting sniffed out Rudger and is out to get him, but he only manages to hurt Amanda badly enough that Rudger finds himself alone and stranded and starting to fade away with Amanda's friendship to sustain him.There begins the story of Rudger trying to get back to Amanda whilst destroying Mr. Bunting. A very quick and light-hearted read, with beautiful illustrations throughout, and a tinge of creepiness.