The Imaginaries: Little Scraps of Larger Stories

by Emily Winfield Martin

Emily Winfield Martin, shares her "Imaginaries": paintings from over the last ten years, captioned with one sentence.

From mermaids and giant flowers to magical robes and mysterious characters, each image is given a one-line caption--the beginning of a story, or maybe the middle--you imagine the rest.

The captions are hand-written on vintage scraps of paper, envelopes, postcards and more.

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade, Poetry, Fiction

80 pages, Library Binding

First published February 4, 2020

About the author

Emily Winfield Martin makes paintings, books, and other things. When she was small, she spent every moment drawing, reading, dressing rabbits in fancy clothes, and having many peculiar daydreams. When she grew up, she began to illustrate those peculiar daydreams, and after college, she created a cottage industry called The Black Apple, which sells all manner of art and etceteras.

She works in a tiny nook of a studio filled with old children's books, wind-up toys, and stacks of fabric. Her work is inspired by fairy tales, music, myths, carnivals, children's books from the late 19th through mid 20th century, her favorite films, and autobiography.

She likes bears and sea monsters and seashell pink poppies. She lives and works among the giant fir trees of Portland, OR.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/theblackapple

Reviews

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, slightly eerie, and quirky paintings accompanied by one sentence each. I yearned to know more about each world or individual in each painting.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything is vintage scraps and drawings. You make your own story in this delightful whimsical collection. My favorite was the drawing of the woman enveloped in a coat with a peacock design and the quote was about the heart of a bird.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly whimsical, charming, and thoughtful. Dreamlike and otherworldly. I loved it!

[Alex Baugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book with lovely two page spreads, but I'm not sure who it is for. Perhaps as a writing prompt as others have suggested.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, sometimes surreal, art on each opening tells a tiny story. Like a coffee table book for kids, or to be used for writing prompts.

[Elaine Bearden · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr2-5
This is kind of like Chris VanAllsburg's the Mysteries of Harris Burdick that I have in poster size. Most pages could serve as a writing prompt. I don't know if a child would pick this up on their own, though the cover may pull them in. Might be cool to use to talk about finding and collecting stories in your journal or art journal.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely beautiful.

[Allie]

Sort of a twee version of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick made specifically to appeal to white women. I had to page SO FAR in to get to an illustration that wasn't a delicate, pale, dead-eyed white woman. What is this? Instagram?!** I think there was one boy, but overall very few were non-white and there was absolutely zero body diversity. Cool. The illustrations are pretty but I've seen a million things like this before.


** Alternates:
What is this? My ex-girlfriend?!
What is this? Portland?!
What is this? The national federation of republican women?!
What is this? An HBO sitcom set in New York?!

[Kat Drennan-Scace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of paintings with little scraps of words for inspiration. My favourite one was the library but I also loved the girl with the bat and the woman with her lion. I’ve been a fan of Emily Winfield Martin for ages and ages so free it was nice coming across familiar friends in this collection. I think this would be a nice collection for aspiring writers.

[Sharni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Emily Winfield Martin’s artwork - it’s both whimsical and nostalgic. I had no idea what this book would be like - I found it while perusing the library catalogue - and it’s absolutely gorgeous! Full page illustrations with a scrap of a story, often written on the back of an envelope to absolutely get lost in. This is a book that one could happily dip into frequently.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem of a book to get your imagination soaring! I have long admired Emily Winfield Martin’s lovely illustrations. In this book she shares one of her paintings with one sentence. My favorite is a beautiful painting of a library filled with books, a few readers, and a bear, a zebra, and a monkey. The caption, “Not all libraries are quiet.” I love her use of vintage papers for the captions.

[Jenna Gareis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five things about The Imaginaries by Emily Winfield Martin 5/5⭐️s

1. This is one of the most beautiful collections of art I own.
2. Each image paired with its short line of context is like a whole tome of poems.
3. I want everyone to dwell on and savor this book.
4. I want to write all these stories.
5. I want someone else to write all these stories too so I can read them.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What is this...how to classify it? It is a truly magical journey into a realm of fantasy, gorgeously illustrated. Each spread has an intriguing illustration and a snippet of text. Awesome story prompts for all ages. I loved everything about this book!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, amusing book with paintings and text on sepia toned envelopes. This is a great book for young artists getting ideas on how to display their work. Martin claims that her work were illustrations waiting for a book. So she made her own book.

[Chrysti Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is also an amazing artist. Her artwork is magical. The concept of this book is interesting in you only get a photo and a line. The stories are endless possibilities and can change depending on the reader and their mood.

[Suzanne Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love EWM’s artwork and matching it to little bits of thoughts and stories worked so well. Such a beautiful volume — I love coming across surprising little books like this!

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always LOVED Emily’s art and these little found messages are absolutely wonderful.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whimsical, surreal, enigmatic, sometimes provocative.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featuring acrylic and gouache paintings from the author's personal collection and work, this book would be ideal as a story starter for creative writing. There are brief captions for each illustration, possible scraps for stories that could awaken the wild imagination in novice writers. The images are evocative, and the lines are displayed on library cards, envelopes, scratch paper, and other found objects, all intriguing and worth spending time gazing at. This book prompted me to begin searching in antique stores and flea markets from some similar treasures. In fact, I might well have some of the similar elements the author has displayed here, my trash becoming my own treasure. I've actually often wondered what might happen if someone sorted through all my lists of to-do items or ponderings or to-read book lists after my death should I not have thrown them away.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Imaginaries: Little Scraps of Larger Stories by Emily Winfield Martin. PICTURE BOOK. Random House, 2020. $19. 9780553511031

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Predominantly full of images, this book is a collection of ideas conveyed through dynamic paintings and scrapes of found paper with small phrases. The ideas are mostly whimsical, including things like mermaids and young kids with masks.

This book feels like looking into an artist’s soul. The paintings are magical and their potential to spark creativity is obvious. The ambiguity of the phrases and order of the art may be disorienting for some readers but will be rewarding for others.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enchanting, intriguing, and effectively twee. Best experienced while listening to Folklore and drinking a cup of something warm.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking art and dreams are bound together in this short little book, and the snippet on each page will be a perfect prompt to inspire the more creative readers, and set us all to dreaming.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told in fragments of stories with stirring paintings to accompany them, this book is like a series of gems on a necklace, each discrete and beautiful. Just like the necklace, they also work together side-by-side to create something larger than themselves. There are glimpses of large sea creatures. A girl journeys in the forest, but she is not alone. Cats and birds, flowers and lions appear on the pages. There are masks to conceal and masks to reveal. There are bats that soar and an alligator to ride.

Each image is paired with writing on a literal scrap of paper. Torn from envelopes, carefully folden, sometimes corrected, on the backs of postcards, each one is different and fascinating. Take those lines from untold stories and pair them with images that create something incredibly moving, bright glimpses into one story and then the next. These are tales you long to be completed, where girls perch on the moon and libraries are filled with music and animals. It is to Martin’s credit that they feel like a whole piece rather than transient images and words set side-by-side. They form a universe of stories to linger in.

The illustrations are whimsical and beautiful. The effect is rather like looking into a series of windows and being able to linger with a story for just a moment before moving on. There are repeating themes of companionship, concealment and surprise on the pages, each captured in a painting that is lush and carefully done.

A very unusual book and one that is at times almost surreal, this is one to celebrate. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

To say this is a picture book is not quite accurate. To say it is a memoir or even a story isn’t really accurate either. It’s somewhat all three of them— little pieces of memory and small bits of stories accompanied by whimsical pictures.

It is a collection of scraps of stories that do not exist.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book was the snippets of text that went along with each picture. I think it would be fun to read someone the text and tell them to draw a picture of what they think would go along with it. Then, when they’re done, show them the picture that Emily Winfield Martin drew to go along with it. I’m sure both pictures would be entirely different! It just goes to show how much is up to the imagination... and how hundreds of stories can live inside a few words.

If you want to try drawing a picture yourself to go along with some of the “snippet stories” from the book, here are some of my favorites!

•Where they were going, there were no maps.
•Ask the monkey what he knows.
•The paradise was different depending on who found it.
•The museum didn’t know which one was magic.
•She had a way of setting things aglow.
•Not all libraries are quiet.
•”I am a stronger swimmer than you know,” she said.
•She never told anyone what she saw at the edge of the world.

Try it before you look at the pictures in the book! See what your imagination can come up with. :)

[Pamela Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations for stories that don't exist -- is how the author describes her work that is included in this book called "Imaginaries" -- My favorite being "When the time came, she didn't have to go alone." showing a young girl that looks like she is running away and she is joined by the animals of the forest that carry their own traveling packs.

Not sure if this is a book for children -- some of I didn't really get...I just looked and enjoyed the creativity. It would make for an unusual art gallery exhibition

NOTE: Not sure if the texts are things she actually found here and there -- or sentences that she made up

QUESTION: Which came first the text or the illustration??

I love the last page that shows her work station and the things that inspire her art.

NOTE: Reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg's THE MYSTERIES OF HARRIS BURDICK

ACTIVITY: Find a picture or painting and write one sentence to describe the action taking place. But the examples together and make your own book.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE
FUTURE
IS A
RUMOR
THE
PAST
TOLD
THE
PRESENT.

If there is such a thing as a coffee table book for children, Emily Winfield Martin's "The Imaginaries" would be it. There is no continuous story in this book, but instead beautiful, whimsical paintings that have accompanying handwritten one liners. A child with an active imagination (or one with an adult companion who themselves has an active imagination) would no doubt be able to develop backstories for the enigmatic characters that Winfield Martin dreams up in this collection: a boy who speaks cat, a girl who rides a bat through the night, the son of a snake charmer, and a beautiful a fortune teller.

This book reminded me of the sort of ominous magic that Lemony Snicket dreams up.

A plus for having characters that represent different races and genders in this book.

[Gae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated book is meant to spark the creativity of the reader. The dreamy illustrations coupled with short strings of words about the strange and the ordinary may serve as prompts for a creative project, or simply to marvel at the fragments of a world beyond ours. But I think the essence of the book is that it arouses curiosity on what could be the bigger story behind these illustrations and short sentences. They may be the beginning of an enchanting or sad or horrific tale. They are open-ended leaving it to the reader to judge or to continue on what is the story behind it.

Here are some of my favorites:
🦋When the time came, she didn't have to go alone.
🦋Genevieve preferred a crown of flowers to a crown of gold.
🦋They had been telling each other stories since they were small.
🦋She grew dahlias the size of dinner plates.
🦋She hadn't believed in the night garden.
🦋Not all libraries are quiet.
🦋She never told anyone what she saw at the edge of the world.

[Ellaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read Martin's book The Wonderful Things You Will Be and I came across this one while having to re-process the call number at my work. These illustrations are haunting, but in such an inviting way. Kind of like in a fairy tale where you mustn't stray from the path, but you catch something at the corner of your eye that you want to investigate. After a lovely adventure you come away with something treasured and magical.

There was one illustration in particular that made me tear up. The caption read, 'She grew dahlias the size of dinner plates.' The portrait could have been of my mother (and in a sense me) when she was younger, in the illustrator's beautiful style. I don't often find Filipinos depicted in mainstream books or media. It was just lovely to see this portrait.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of Emily Winfield Martin's illustrations, each coupled with a short statement of imagination and interpretation of it, handwritten onto a random scrap of paper, the back of an envelope, etc. It really does give the feeling of the imagination at work and jotting down what comes to mind. With each description, a whole new story awaits to be expanded.

I really enjoyed this as Martin encourages the use of imagination and interpretation with her own. This could be used to show students each picture asking them what comes to their mind, where would they take their story based on a picture chosen.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that offers several enticing options to young readers. First, the illustrations will fire their imagination and may also spark a memory. For example, the one about dahlias the size of dinner plates took me back to the 1970s when my great uncle Leland grew them all along his porch so people driving past his home on their way to Canada could enjoy them. The quotes for each illustration might also serve as writing prompts for those so inclined. The illustrations also stand alone as amazing visual images. Truly this is a book to savor and re-read over time.