Imagine

by Juan Felipe Herrera, Lauren Castillo (Illustrator)

A buoyant, breathtaking poem from Juan Felipe Herrera -- brilliantly illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Lauren Castillo -- speaks to every dreaming heart.

Have you ever imagined what you might be when you grow up? When he was very young, Juan Felipe Herrera picked chamomile flowers in windy fields and let tadpoles swim across his hands in a creek. He slept outside and learned to say good-bye to his amiguitos each time his family moved to a new town. He went to school and taught himself to read and write English and filled paper pads with rivers of ink as he walked down the street after school. And when he grew up, he became the United States Poet Laureate and read his poems aloud on the steps of the Library of Congress. If he could do all of that . . . what could you do? With this illustrated poem of endless possibility, Juan Felipe Herrera and Lauren Castillo breathe magic into the hopes and dreams of readers searching for their place in life.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Biography, Childrens, Memoir, Cultural, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1985

About the author

Juan Felipe Herrera is the only son of Lucha Quintana and Felipe Emilio Herrera; the three were campesinos living from crop to crop on the roads of the San Joaquín Valley, Southern California and the Salinas Valley. Herrera's experiences as the child of migrant farmers have strongly shaped his work, such as the children's book Calling the Doves, which won the Ezra Jack Keats award in 1997. He is a poet, performer, writer, cartoonist, teacher, and activist who draws from real life experiences as well as years of education to inform his work. Community and art has always been part of what has driven Herrera, beginning in the mid-seventies, when he was director of the Centro Cultural de la Raza, an occupied water tank in Balboa Park converted into an arts space for the community.
Herrera’s publications include fourteen collections of poetry, prose, short stories, young adult novels and picture books for children in the last decade with twenty-one books in total.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

An evocative and inspirational poem from U.S. Poet Laureat Juan Felipe Herrera (2015-2017) is paired with beautiful artwork from Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Lauren Castillo in this lovely picture-book. Describing the many things he did as a young boy, from bidding his friends goodbye, because his migrant-worker family had to move on, to entering a classroom in his new school with no English skills, Herrera concludes with his experience reading his poetry as Poet Laureate, and invites the reader to imagine what they could do...

With its constant refrain - "imagine..." - and its spare but powerful description of a life encompassing both poverty and prestige, I found the text of Imagine quite beautiful. The accompanying artwork by Castillo, done in pen and foam monoprint, is absolutely beautiful, capturing each scene perfectly. Her background is sometimes full of white space, and sometimes densely colored, leading to a feeling of visual variety, as one turns the pages. Highly recommended, to anyone who values beautiful picture-book art, is looking for poetic picture-books, or is in the market for children's stories about being a migrant-worker child and/or a poet.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juan Felipe Herrera’s powerful and beautiful poem, Imagine, describes how he transformed his life from the son of migrant farmworkers to the 2015 - 2017 U.S. Poet Laureate. If you dream, you can achieve.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poem. Memoir. Immigrant story. This is beautiful!!
Pair it with Yuyi Morales' Dreamers.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing picture book based on the poetry of Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera. His life is told in a poetic form. It’s magical and very meaningful.

[Xristina Karvouni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sentimental autobiographical poem by Juan Felipe Herrer, U.S Poet Laureate, with accompanying artwork and an inspirational vibe.

"If I let the stars at night paint my blanket with milky light with shape of hungry birds while I slept outside."

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine is the evocative and inspirational autobiography-told-as-a-poem of the life of poet Juan Felipe Herrera. Many don't often get to hear the details of an immigrant child's life; this fills a huge gap in children's literature.

[Carolina Ipjian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este hermoso poema autobiográfico describe la vida de cuando el autor Juan Felipe Herrera era niño. Sus memorias de cuando vivió en el campo recogiendo flores y la ayuda que dió a su madre a alimentar los animales de la granja, especialmente cuando dormía bajo el cielo estrellado y centellante. Estas memorias son claramente la fuente de inspiración para este hermoso poema que con un lenguaje sencillo invita al lector a imaginar y crear lo que podría llegar a ser, las posibilidades son ilimitadas. Las ilustraciones describen en una manera detallada y colorida el mundo de Juan Felipe quien es poeta, artista y activista. Hijo también de trabajadores agrícolas migrantes. Igualmente al ser un libro de poesía ilustrada es recomendable para lectores emergentes hasta los más avanzados. Ideal para unidades de estudio sobre figuras literarias, prosa vs verso, autobiografía en formato ilustrado poema y rimas. Disponible en youtube

Premios y distinciones otorgadas
IRA Teacher’s Choice
Latino Hall of Fame Poetry Awards (twice awarded)
Los Angeles Times Book Award Nomination
National Endowment for the Arts Writers’ Fellowship Awards
New York Public Library Outstanding Book for High School Students Award
Pura Belpré Honors Award
Smithsonian Children’s Book of the Year Award
Stanford Chicano Fellows Fellowship
Texas Blue Bonnet Nomination
2021 Los Angeles Review of Books/UC Riverside Creative Writing Lifetime Achievement Award

[Abby Johnson]

A gorgeous picture book memoir from Mexican-American poet Herrera depicting scenes from his childhood, all the while he was dreaming of what he might become. His love of words is obvious and his passion for writing. This is an inspiring book for all young writers and young kids dreaming of what they might become. Hand to fans of DREAMERS by Yuyi Morales for another inspiring, beautifully illustrated immigrant memoir or PABLO NERUDA by Monica Brown for another picture book illuminating the life of a Latino poet.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this beautiful book more stars if I could. Juan Felipe Herrera's poem takes us through his life in this poem, and at the same time, inspires readers to image who and what they might become. Lauren Castillo's illustrations incite his words to fly off the pages.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful poetic memoir by the U.S. Poet Laureate complemented with lovely, bright and spacious illustrations.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine if my students appreciated what they had?

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by the Poet Laureate - this autobiography is written in verse, and is a beautiful story of immigration, hope and possibility. Might be a good read aloud for my school visits.

[Adriana Martinez Figueroa · Rating 5 out of 5]

*slams hands down* let more poets write picture books

[Marissa Marquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juan Felipe Herrera does an extraordinary job at telling his own story though this poetic memoir titled Imagine. On each page, a verse is found: these verses move the poem along and connect with the illustration attached. Herrera uses repetition consistently throughout the story - each verse begins with “If I…” and ends with “Imagine.” The repetitive use of the word imagine is included for the purpose evoking thought or encouragement into the reader's mind. As far as illustrations go, they are beautiful and I can’t decide what I love more, the illustrations or the flow of the intentional word choice! Herrera’s rhythmic lyrical texts pairs with Castillo’s illustrations with ease and creates a dream-like aura. Some pages are left with white space but some are filled edge to edge with an array of color. Some of my favorite pages are the chamomile flower field, the tadpoles, the gooey and sticky ink pens, and the last “Imagine.” The color use of the entire book is calming and couples with the feeling of the text admirably.

Imagine follows as Herrera begins as only the son of migrant farmworkers - helping feed the chickens/hiking across a mountain to fetch water - to going to school but not knowing how to read or speak english - to overcoming challenges - to developing a love for writing and story and ultimately becoming Poet Laureate of the United States. Readers essentially grow up with Herrera and witness the major steps and obstacles he overcame to achieve his dreams. Herrera’s story evokes joy, empathy and instills inspiration to those reading to imagine what they can do and who they can become. This book could definitely be used as a commencement for young children to begin writing or even start reading other stories similar to this one. Additionally, this story is a great way to share what hard work, drive, and resilience can do for young readers and their dreams. It is so essential for adults to inspire and motivate children to go for their dreams as it is an act of courage. Not only is Herrera a well-rounded author but he also is an activist. During the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, Herrera acted as an activist to shine light on the stories and history of Mexican- Americans. Now his work consists of aiding migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth. Overall, this book displays a powerful moving lesson of asking yourself to imagine.

[Yuliya Yefimov · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, I too imagined what I can be and do when I grew up. The book follows the life of Juan Felipe Herrera before, during, and after he and his family migrated to America, it is as if you are watching him grow up. This book reminded me of myself as my family immigrated to America and I felt that I could relate to a lot of things he was experiencing. The book is of Juan's poem and has the repetitive use of imagine on every page, asking and encouraging the reader to imagine what they can become. The pages alternate with having a lot white space in the pictures to having the whole page be covered in the picture, the pictures are colored with watercolor to match the flowing of the poem. Overall, this book has a great message of imagining what you can become in all life circumstances.

[Ellice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not crying, anyone reading this book is crying.

The former Poet Laureate of the United States uses vignettes from his own humble beginnings as the child of migrant farmworkers and an American immigrant to encourage young readers to imagine what they might be able to do, regardless of their circumstances. Both the poem that makes up the text and the illustrations are wildly inspirational. And for those easily overwhelmed by the pathos of this world, tear-inducing.

I cannot recommend this book more.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

And "who might you be?" Imagine. This time, I won't write more. You'll have to "imagine" that Juan Felipe Herrera and Lauren Castillo have created a wonderful book, then hold it in your hands and love it, too.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lyrical text along with the beautifully painted illustrations make this inspirational biographical picture book a must-have for all bookshelves and classrooms. Juan Felipe Herrera came to this country as a child, unable to speak English, and grew up to become the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. This book would be wonderful to share with young readers as a way to promote a growth mindset and to let them know that anything is possible with hard work.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Great message ("if I can do this, imagine what you could do!") that's beautifully written by Juan Felipe Herrera, the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015-2017, and illustrated to perfection from the always fab Lauren Castillo.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The look at the U.S. Poet Laureate (2015-2017) Juan Felipe Herrera. The son of migrant farmworkers, Juan was able to imagine his life one day as an artist, teacher, activist and poet. Truly inspirational.

[Serenity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book quite a while ago on Matthew Winner's podcast but I just finally picked it up and read it. This book is absolutely beautiful. The message is very inspirational, and the illustrations are just lovely.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The former Poet Laureate's life in a poem, gorgeously illustrated as we follow this kid through the years. I thought this might go over my kid's head but he totally got it, saw the kid growing through the years as his world kept expanding...so much here to appreciate, beautiful book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated picture book with words by a former U.S. Poet Laureate. This quiet book has a dreamlike quality. By learning the story of the boy in the story--a boy who learns a new language and moves to an unfamiliar land--readers can imagine possibilities of their own lives. A perfect conversation starter for very young children and their caregivers.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definite 2019 Caldecott contender!

[Shanique Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

So lovely, both the words and the illustrations!

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations along with lovely and inspiring words. All around wonderful.

[Alice Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful life story; warm, yearning illustrations.

[Liz B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet little poem/ picture book.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Castillo’s gorgeous art brings Herrera’s beautiful poem to life on the pages of this beautiful picture book. Herrera’s poem is autobiographical and stunning. Highly recommended.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine if a picture book could lift your spirits, ignite your imagination, spark your dreams. Inspiring autobiographical poem from a Poet Laureate of the USA.