Use Your Imagination

by Nicola O'Byrne

Rabbit is bored. What shall he do? Luckily, Wolf has the perfect solution. "Why not write a story?" he suggests. Rabbit thinks this is a great idea! And so Wolf teaches Rabbit to use his imagination to create the perfect story with lots of exciting props and interesting characters. Rabbit is desperate to know what happens next when it suddenly becomes clear that Wolf is very hungry —uh-oh, so that’s how the story ends. But Wolf hasn't reckoned on Rabbit's excellent imagination. . . .

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Fairy Tales, Writing, Fantasy

36 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Nicola O’Byrne was banned from watching Saturday morning television by her parents and she has been drawing ever since. She grew up in Singapore surrounded by the vibrant colors of the tropics and had not even heard of illustration as a career before she discovered the Illustration course at Edinburgh College of Art. She has a masters in printmaking from Camberwell College of Art. Nicola O’Byrne gets most of her ideas for children’s books when she should be working on something else, and bases all of her characters on people she knows. She lives in England.

Reviews

[Nola Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbit is bored and wishes something would happen. As luck would have it, a 'librarian' wolf suggests they make up a story using their imaginations. However, every time rabbit comes up with a suggestion, the wolf tries to change it to the way he wants. Just as things look dire, the rabbit suddenly realises he can use his imagination to change the story. What happens to the wolf? Well you'll just have to fold out the quadruple-page spread towards the back of the book to see.

This was a charming book. Hopefully it would be a springboard for helping children to use their own imaginations to come up with stories or alter existing ones. The illustrations are also cute. It's a shame the cover image hasn't come across on the Goodreads entry, as it's quite appealing. I would recommend this book.

[Liza Nahas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha! That tricky wolf! Very clever twist on the old classic wolf vs rabbit tale.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I have to say it... this is one book that I would Definitely put on a shelf if I had children. Love the twists of it.... thing is since I caught a cold I have been listening to a show about children books and I got hooked and this is one book I really liked.

[Neda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story and illustration.
I especially like the intertexual references..

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids will love to see the twists and turns that this classic tale takes.

[Sannro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Den här boken funkar säkert jättebra för de flesta barn. Den såg så lockande ut i biblioteket så vi plockade med den hem. Men sedan när vi läste den blev det inte riktigt så bra som vi hade tänkt oss. Till en början var vi med på tåget men sedan efter att vargen "använd din fantasi!" och kaninen duktigt gör det och fritt drömmer fram "Stora explosioner och bananer" så säger vargen att de ska ta något annat. Sedan upprepas det mönstret igen. De kommer till slut gemensamt fram till att kaninen ska vara hjälte och den undrar vad den ska ha på sig. Vargen säger återigen "använd din fantasi" kaninen drömmer om rymddräkter eller pirathattar. Varpå vargen säger att ingenting behövs egentligen. Då var min lilla kille så irriterad på vargen.

Varje gång som kaninen kom med en vild idé så var min grabb med på tåget, sen kom vargen och la en blöt filt över allt. Så upplevde vi det hela. Detta kan nog vara en toppenbok om man läser den innan ens eget barn börjar berätta egna sagor, eller rita block upp och ner med utklädnader för bra karaktärer.

[Izabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Varför skriver du inte en saga?" sa Vargen. Jag är bibliotekarie, förstår du, och vi bibliotekarier vet massor om sagor."
"Du ser inte ut som en bibliotekarie", sa Kaninen. "Vilka stora öron du har!"
"Det är för att jag ska kunna höra på sagor lilla vän", sa Vargen.
"Och vilka stora ögon du har!" sa Kaninen.
"Det är för att jag ska kunna läsa lilla vän", sa Vargen.
"Hm, jag är säker på att jag hört något liknande förut", sa Kaninen.
"Bry dig inte om det", sa Vargen snabbt. "Nu fortsätter vi med sagan."

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever twist on Grimm's Red Riding Hood tale. It would be a good idea if your child was familiar with the original story to better understand Wolf and his tricks. After all, Rabbit wasn't clever enough to remember where he had the lines that Wolf borrowed to trick him.
I loved Rabbit's ideas of what should go into the story. Beware of someone who wants you to use your imagination and then doesn't want to use any of your ideas.
The clever trap door exit/entry on the back cover was brilliant.

[Tatiana Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

muito bom para se trabalhar a criatividade, para se explicar como se cria uma história. este livro serve para este tipo de atividade, bem como para uma sessão de leitura divertida, uma vez que a cadência do texto, a ilustração e história são boas e apelativas. No âmbito do perfil do aluno enquanto pensamento critico e criativo e a sensibilidade estética e artistica. a autora cresceu em singapura e estudou na escocia.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun twist on the wolf in a fairy tale trope, with lots of engaging sensory elements. Thematically fits something like "Not a Box", the postmodern fairy tales of Jon Scieszka, and physically interactive books like "Plant the Tiny Seed".

[Leslie Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! Another library book turned into purchase because my child loved it so much.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant story about a wolf and a rabbit, one of which uses imagination to turn the tables. Useful for programming for K regarding imagination.

[Seema Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the wolf tries to help him young, tasty mammal to become more imaginative, the plan backfires.

[Hanne Govaerts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik las dit boek als een voorleesboekje bij het project 'Boekenkaravaan'.

[Talea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how she used fonts to embellish the use of imagination along with basic but bold illustrations. Very cute and fun read for my little girl.

[Sourimak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coup de coeur pour ce petit chaperon rouge revisité. Des illustrations vives et colorées qui pétillent. Un texte drôle qui invite à l'invention. Parfait !

[Carmen (TheReadingTrashQueen) · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWWYES GO BUNNY!

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great class read for KS1. Lots of tricks and turns!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and funny story about a bored rabbit and the wolf that comes to play with him and encourages him to use his imagination. A great group read aloud.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too funny! I love it!

[Tavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant for explaining to children the structure of a story.

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great starting point for imagination games and explaining imagination for those who it might not come to quite as easily.

[Tracy Mabry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. In your face, wolf!
Lots of text which may be tricky for storytime, but nice, large illustrations on large pages!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADOREI

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty cool. My daughter loved it. A wolf tells a rabbit that the wolf is a librarian, and the rabbit sounds use his imagination to tell a story. Great ending! Fun illustrations.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting twist on little red riding hood. the bunny becomes the hero and blasts the wolf off into space because it used his imagination.

[Melanie Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to a Year 1 class, who loved it!

[Portable · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another innovative book from Nicola O'Byrne. This book is PERFECT for our Unit of Inquiry into Stories: read on as the tricky wolf ("I'm a librarian!" "BUt what big eyes you have..." "All the better to read with") attempts to hoodwink the resourceful rabbit into another story with BITE. Luckily, the rabbit has plans of their own. A great way to introduce the idea of imagination, where stories come from, and creating your own stories. This would make a great companion read with Just Imagine.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Rabbit decides to write a story, he does so with the help of Wolf, who is masquerading as a librarian. The story starts off well, but quickly results in Rabbit scurrying through the woods with Wolf at his heels. But the quick thinking and imagination of Rabbit keeps him from becoming Wolf's dinner. The mixed media illustrations are lively, engaging, and fun for readers to manipulate, especially when they see where Wolf goes and note the images at the story's conclusion. Young readers will surely smile at the animals' antics and wonder how Rabbit will be able to save himself. Beware of librarians in wolf's clothing--or is it the other way around?

[Sj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for preschoolers. My kids are at an age where they are getting scared of things like monsters and waking up to bad dreams. I like how rabbit realizes that he is the hero of his own story and takes matters in to his own hands. My kids were very excited about the idea of managing their own fears and sending them off in a rocket. It was also nice to keep repeating "Use your imagination," to let them know that they can change what will happen if they want/need to. I would definitely recommend this book to people who have preschoolers.