Clara and Asha

by Eric Rohmann

In Clara and Asha -- as in Eric Rohmann's Caldecott Medal-winning My Friend Rabbit --a simple storyline becomes the basis for fun and sophistication. Clara's friend Asha is an enormous fish, which means that hide-and-seek, Halloween, snow days, and afternoons in the park offer surprising opportunities for adventure. With oil paintings that playfully suggest stories within stories and convey great emotional range, this is a captivating book about the special world of a child's imagination--where a giant fish might come to visit, and the things you do and the things you fell with an imaginary friend are intensely real.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Animals, Fiction, Friendship, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Eric Rohmann won the Caldecott Medal for My Friend Rabbit, and a Caldecott Honor for Time Flies. He is also the author and illustrator of Bone Dog, Clara and Asha, A Kitten Tale, and The Cinder-Eyed Cats, among other books for children. He has illustrated many other books, including Last Song, based on a poem by James Guthrie, and has created book jackets for a number of novels, including His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman.

Rohmann was born in Riverside, Illinois in 1957. He grew up in Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago. As a boy, he played Little League baseball, read comic books, and collected rocks and minerals, insects, leaves, and animal skulls.

Rohmann has his BS in Art and an MS in Studio Art from Illinois State University, and an MFA in Printmaking/Fine Bookmaking from Arizona State University. He also studied Anthropology and Biology. He taught printmaking, painting, and fine bookmaking at Belvoir Terrace in Massachusettes and introductory drawing, fine bookmaking, and printmaking at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. He lives in a suburb of Chicago.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ericro...

Reviews

[Kellie Bae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clara and Asha is an imaginative, fantasy that’s gorgeous oil paintings hooked me from the first page (well, the cover actually!) Eric Rohmann, author of My Friend Rabbit, has written and illustrated this story of a friendship between Clara and her enormous fish friend, Asha. Young protagonist Clara, who is probably 5 or 6, explains that she met Asha in the park. Asha is a fountain fish, made of stone. Asha becomes Clara’s new imaginary friend, who she shares many adventures with. They play in the tub, have tea with her other friends (imaginary of course), go out on Halloween, play in the snow and play in the sky. The detailed, painted illustrations allow the readers imagination to let loose as it is captivated by Clara’s imagination. My favorite pages are the wordless ones where Clara is lifted out her bedroom window and into the sky by a bubble she has blown. She drifts along, and when the bubble pops. she is caught by Asha, then she flies down to her house when her mother calls, “Clara, time for bed.”

Although this story is for perfect bedtime, it definitely has its place in the classroom. I always think a book with wordless pages goes very well with inferring, because the reader needs to make sense of what the author is telling them through illustrations. It is also a great story of friendship and allows for text to self connections with the idea of an imaginary friend.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely, lovely book.

I have a theory that you can often judge a book based on the names of the characters. If that is true, this one is no exception. Clara and Asha rock.

Favorite page:

And tonight? Tonight we play in the sky.

[Michelle Ty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was about an girl having a hard time to sleep at night, and her mind is up and is being creative throughout the whole night, with imaginary friend Ash, who is a fish.
Clara and Asha was all over the place. I think that went along with how the book was about, which was a girl being imaginative and open minded. She used a lot of her creativity and believe in the adventures she went on with her imaginary friend.
Genre was realism. I believe this has happened to many of us when we were really creative and had imaginary friends when we were really young.
I picked this book to read because to be hones I thought the front was really interesting and different from other books, yet it seemed creepy. I read this to my younger sisters and they also thought it was creepy. I have mixed feelings after reading the book and I think I forever will because in a way, this author took a lot of thought and made it very creative, but I think some people may find it creepy to read especially to kids or many can relate to it. It depends on the person.
A lot of the colors were dark because her imaginative mind was at its peak at night when she was nearing to go to bed. The illustrations for this book took up most of the page, while the text was usually at the corner of the page or sometimes not there at all, because the author wanted some part of the illustrations to tell the story too.

[Whitney Leanhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book and all the adventures it takes the reader on. This little girl Clara has all these friends she hangs out with. Asha being one of them. Before bed Clara goes to many places with Asha.

[Carolyn Jeziorski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another creative book by Eric Rohmann. He’s visiting our school right now, and he told students that the story was based on an imaginary friend he had when young (lizard, btw). Students loved the story when I read it aloud.

[Rudolph Ronswik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful imagery, a good book to read at bedtime for children. Doesn't quite capture the sheer wonderment in The Cinder-Eyed Cats, but still veryneat!

Don't buy this expecting story. It's more a collection of visuals.

[Rebecca Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Eric Rohmann's art, but I wasn't impressed with the story in this book.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and short. I love the art. Definitely a future storytime option.

[Seema Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet book about a child's many imaginary animal friends, told in text and painted illustrations.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imaginative

[Christina Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Use of Imagination.

[Kfiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute book about a girl using her imagination to create many friends of different sizes shapes and species.

[zunggg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bulging, booming illustrations say much more than the words in this dreamy wander with an imaginary fish-friend.

[Kaitlin Heaton]

picture book

Fun story about a child with an imagination.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

K-2nd grade
Fiction/Fantasy
This book is so good. I love the relationship between the main character and her "friend". The illustrations in this book are incredible and are a good way to keep young readers engaged.

[Tiffany Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Clara and Asha
Author: Eric Rohmann
Illustrator: Eric Rohmann
Publisher/Date: Roaring Brook Press (Holtzbrinck)/ 8/1/2005
Pages/Format: 40/ Hardcover
ISBN: 9781596430310

In Clara and Asha -- as in Eric Rohmann's Caldecott Medal-winning My Friend Rabbit -- a simple storyline becomes the basis for fun and sophistication. Clara's friend Asha is an enormous fish, which means that hide-and-seek, Halloween, snow days, and afternoons in the park offer surprising opportunities for adventure. With oil paintings that playfully suggest stories with stories and convey great emotional range, this is a captivating book about the special world of a child's imagination - where a giant fish might come to visit, and the things you do and the things you fell with an imaginary friend are intensely real.

Told to you by Clara, she speaks of her awaiting her Asha, a giant blue fish who comes to her when she leaves her window open. She says they met in the park, where she saw a huge water fountain with blue fish spouting out the water.

This isn't just an adventure with her Asha, although that is the main theme. Clara tries to go to sleep but she has so many imaginary friends that come visit her before bed, that she must go on adventures with them. I love her imagination, turning all her stuffed animals and things she sees around her, and out of her house to life.

The artwork is wonderfully done. The shadows are amazing, and the play with bubbles and fish are a fun connection. All the details on each really make you linger on the pages longer and longer the more intertwined Clara's story becomes. I specially liked when Clara, on Halloween, gets help from Asha with her costume. She went as a fisherman.

Not only does Eric Rohmann write Clara and Asha but also painted it. I truly believe there is a special bond that takes place between writing and illustrating. Sometimes, bringing in an illustrator isn't the best for the story. There is a protectiveness that occurs. I love the detail that Rohmann placed through the title. From the combination of bubbles when Asha appears to small additions of stuffed animals and other minor details that is slowly revealed through the book. My first reading through I didn't put together that the alligator was one of Clara's stuffed animals, and then you see him in her imaginary form shortly before she is to fall asleep again. Everything about this book makes it a must add to any one's library.

I recommend for anyone who has an imagination, loves animals, adventures, stuffed animals, and not going to bed when told too.

originally posted: http://tiffanyfoxbooks.blogspot.com/2...

[Sofia Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the picture book "Clara and Asha" by Eric Roshman was a very creative and fun book for children to read and even relate to. It begin with a young girl named Clara who has to get ready for bed but had trouble because of an imaginary fish friend she has, and whose name is Asha. Clara begins telling how her and Asha first met in the park (Asha was a statue fish on a fountain) and how from there she took Asha home and introduced her to all her other imaginary animal friends. Clara and Asha become close friends in the book and Clara even based her halloween costume of being a fisher off of Asha. As well, her and Asha have fun playing in the snow and spending time together. She then shows how when it's almost time for her bed time, her and Asha will play and swim in the sky. But then when Clara's mom tells her that it is time for bed, Asha leaves and Clara is then greeted by her other imaginary alligator friend. The book ends with Clara saying how she can't help it that she has so many friends.
This picture book is a fun, imaginative, and creative book for young children to read and to have read to them. It can allow children to use their imaginations and closely relate to Clara with having imaginary friends. The book's words and story line was simple and easy enough for a child to read and understand, as well the pictures were colorful and mostly took up the entire page with little words. There were some pages that were entirely pictures and no words showing how Clara and her imaginary friend Asha would play. These pictures often showed more than just one scene of Clara and Asha playing together, but rather showed several pictures of them playing and swimming in the sky together. This allows children to understand and interpret the book through looking at the pictures rather than just reading the text. What I thought was the best about this book was how Roshman used simple text yet had elaborate and colorful pictures which told the story better than just reading it.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara and Asha is a story about a young girl who uses her wild imagination to create many of her friends. One of her most special friends, Asha, is a giant fish whom she thinks up after seeing a fish fountain at the park. From tea parties to snow days to floating on bubbles in the night sky, Clara and Asha experience many exciting adventures together.

The beautiful oil painting pictures within this story help captivate reader’s into feeling the joy and excitement that is having an imaginary friend. Although centered on a pretend concept, Rohmann does an amazing job bringing the unreal to life. Personally I never had an imaginary friend growing up, but after reading this story this is how I would have liked it to be!

Uses in the Classroom:

•Creative writing assignment: Teacher brings in a stuffed animal that represents the imaginary friend, Asha, from the story. Each student takes it home for a day. When students return with the toy, they will write and illustrate their own story about the adventures they had and share it with the class.

[Rilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Clara and Asha” is a story about a little girl named Clara who uses her wild imagination to create many of her friends. One of her most special friends is Asha who is a giant fish. From tea parties to floating on bubbles in the night sky, Clara and Asha experience many exciting adventures together. The illustrations in this book capture the genuine and deep friendship between Clara and her friends.

This would be a great book to use for a creative writing assignment. Each student will have a turn to take their own “Asha” home with them for the day. The teacher will provide the stuffed fish toy. When the student returns with the toy, they will write and illustrate their own story about the adventures they had. The students will share their stories with the class. This is an excellent lesson for building students’ comprehension of story structure and creative writing.

[L11_Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clara, a young girl, uses her imagination to take her on magical adventures with her fish-friend, Asha. She "met" Asha at a fountain in a park. Asha was a fish statue in the fountain. Clara takes her home in her imagination and introduces her to all her "friends" (stuffed animals) and at night, Clara and Asha go on adventures before Clara's mom eventually makes her go to bed.

The illustrations in this picture book are magnificent. The colors, the sketches, all make this book come to life. As a reader, you become part of Clara's imagination. Clara and Asha is simply a wonderful read aloud, picture book for the younger grades. Undoubtedly, young children will fall in love with it.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Micah keeps asking for this book over and over again. The story is pretty accurate as far as being based on something a little kid would think and daydream about.

When I was little, my "Asha" was a pair of stone lions, flanking some strangers' front door. Every time we would drive by in our bright blue VW van, I would try to shout out (through the wind blowing in the microscopic sliding window) "Come on, Pheefee, jump in!"

Kind of obscure, but still interesting. The illustrations are soft--the one of Clara and Asha flying over the still lake at twilight is nice.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very whimsical and imaginative story of a little girl's adventures when she is supposed to be asleep. It kind of reminded me a bit of Peter Pan except there was a giant fish whisking away the girl into the night sky. But it was a sweet story of friendship and how a girl could soar across the night sky in her imagination. The ending was pretty amusing as well. I especially liked the illustrations and felt like they added to the story and made it fun. I'd probably recommend.

*Taken from My Sentiments Exactly!: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2013...

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library this week. He liked the cover. So did I.

I love flying fish. Not so much the ones that jump out of the ocean and look like they are flying, and I am completely freaked up by walking fish, but fantastical fish that can fly in the sky as if it were water -- love that.

My son apparently has inherited my aesthetic. He, too, loves fantastical flying fish. The sumptuous, rich artwork makes this book feel like a beautiful dream during waking hours. I enjoyed it even more than My Friend Rabbit.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book Clara, her mother sends a young girl, to bed, but Clara isn’t ready for bed. While lying in bed Asha, a giant fish, comes in through the window. Clara and Asha go on many adventures together, but only Clara can see her. When Asha leaves, so Clara can go to bed another friend, an alligator comes to see Clara.

I chose this book, because this book shows that other children may have imaginary friends. The pictures in this book allow the children to use their imagination.
Questions- Do you have an imaginary friend or used to have one?

[Fjóla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate it 3 and 1/2 stars if I could. The illustrations are definitely very beautiful and fun, and the story both creative and soothing, but I just wasn't very touched. We have enjoyed other books by Eric Rohmann, but I still think My Friend Rabbit stands out quite a bit from the other as the best one of the lot.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

What child can't relate to being told to go to sleep when she just isn't sleepy yet? This book captures the wild imagination and the adventures Clara goes on during bedtime. The illustrations are dark and ethereal, almost dreamlike and the story was light and creative. Our girls really liked this story and enjoyed talking about their dreams and how fun it would be to float up into the sky on a bubble.

[Gail Barge]

Imagination is the theme of this book! I love the way the young girl has such a vivid imagination, creating friends that visit her at night. This book is very original in that it has quite a few pages with only images, no text. This reminds of the book Tuesday that has pages with just pictures that the reader has to "read". This would be a fun book to use when discussing imagination and creative writing.

[Holly Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Clara. Clara has a big imagination and has several imaginary friends, including a giant fish named Asha. This book shows the adventures that Clara and Asha experience.

I enjoyed this book. It was a great way of showing a young girl and her vast imagination.

I would use this book in my classroom to bring up the topic of imagination with my students. This book would encourage my students to be creative and use their imagination.

[Debra Millan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a young girl named Clara with a very vivid imagination. This book celebrates the power of a good imagination. The illustrations are delightful; both simple and rich in nature. The text is minimal and utilizes low level vocabulary, which is perfect for beginning readers. This would be a fun story to read to preschool students before they take a nap. I would also utilize the story to teach children the difference between real and imaginary events.

[Graywaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid frolic of imagination with a great end. It's presented in such a way that it is both about imaginary friends, but also a magical adventure. Quite adorable and playful. The chalk or pastel illustrations are soft and cute. My only nitpick is the little girl is the only thing in the book without catchlights in her eyes, but I did quite enjoy the style. Overall it's a lovely read and I'd recommend it, especially for imaginative little kids who love their stuffed toys.