The Imaginaries

November 11, 2019
“I found them, or maybe they found me,” Martin (Snow & Rose) writes in an introductory note about the fragments, which she says she came upon in surprising places. In this album, pages feature enigmatic handwritten notes on creamy envelopes and other scraps of paper opposite exquisitely painted animals and doll-like women and children in fanciful dress, expressions of doubt on their faces. A note across from a woman dressed in a silk robe reads, “Her/ heart was the/ kind that beat/ like a bird’s/ wings.” In some paintings, animals—a lion, an ibis, a bat—pose with human figures, offering silent companionship. In others, humans wear masks (“She always wanted/ to be/ a bear”). Romantic seascapes carry silent menace as gigantic sea creatures threaten three-masted schooners: “Where/ they were going,/ there were no maps,” one note says ominously. Throughout, the human characters appear poised and self-conscious, as if awaiting further instructions. Only a few—a girl who confronts a sea monster, another who rides a bat at night—seem to have plans of their own. It’s a stirring sheaf of variations on the theme of luxurious eccentricity. Ages 8–12.

November 15, 2019
Addressed in an opening note to "the one who finds this," this collection of what Martin calls story scraps invites readers to stretch their creativity. Martin presents a "misfit" series of narrative fragments, describing them as stories that don't yet exist. Each spread features either a full-bleed or one-page illustration, rendered in delicate gouache and acrylics and accompanied by an intentionally cryptic, hand-lettered note, as if jotted on a scrap of paper. ("She hadn't believed in the night garden.") Most of the illustrations feature elegant portraits, many of tall, slender, doe-eyed, pale girls and women (including a mermaid) in nature. Refreshingly, two of the nonwhite humans have very dark skin instead of the lighter, ambiguous skin color used to signify diversity in so many picture books today. Occasionally, massive and mysterious sea monsters appear; after all, "the sea gives up its secrets slowly." In both artistic style and tone, romantic is the vibe: Martin writes that she found one story fragment "in the roots of an English rose." The tone momentarily shifts toward surreal when she paints a young girl at a birthday party with friends who have human bodies but large animal heads (a cat, a bear, etc.), but the more wistful tone dominates. Whimsical writing prompts in a vintage style for your inner Wes Anderson. (Picture book. 8-15)

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Starred review from January 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 2-In this unique book, full-page ethereal illustrations are combined with phrases or single sentences to spark the curiosity and creative minds of readers. There is no real plot, nor is there supposed to be one. Martin has essentially created her Fantasia of books, with paintings of imaginative scenes being paired with a short sentence written on old paper. The text can be a bit difficult to read sometimes, especially for younger readers who may not know cursive, but the vocabulary is simple and the sentences are short. Besides, readers do not even need to have words in order to create stories from Martin's various illustrations. Each one of the acrylic or gouache designs speaks for itself, with readers filling in the stories with their own ideas and maybe with the help of the provided phrases. There is a sense of enchantment about these designs that encapsulate numerous emotions and worlds that are so far and yet so close to our hearts. Scenes of the sea, friends, parties, the unknown; Martin gives readers a look into these imaginary worlds and instead of telling readers what is happening, she asks them to decide instead. VERDICT Martin has truly created something unique and inspiring for storytellers and explorers, young and old.-Margaret Kennelly, iSchool at Urbana-Champaign, IL

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