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Five Favorite Picture Books That Inspire Imagination

 One of the best things about reading is how it can transport you out of reality and into something out of this world. It allows us to see further than what we can see with the natural eye and explore a world of possibilities. When we are reading, we don't have to live by the rules of this physical existence, but can travel beyond space and time into the impossible. Here are five of my favorite picture books that delve into the world of imagination!

It's Not a Bed, It's a Time Machine
By: Mickey Rapkin
Imprint Publishing Group, LLC. 2019. 
A boy is afraid of going to bed, so his stuffed rabbit shows him what an adventure it can be as they turn his bed into a time machine and travel back to the age of the dinosaurs. 



By: Richard Jackson
Athenium Books for Young Readers, 2021.
A boy and a girl go exploring outside and show each other what they imagine in the things they see around them.



By: Aaron Becker
Candlewick Press, 2013.
This wordless picture book follows a young girl with a crayon. Her drawings come to life, taking her into a magical kingdom where she creatively uses her crayon to find her way back home. 



By: Antoinet Portis
HarperCollins, 2006.
A rabbit shows how an ordinary box can be many things other than a box, if you use your imagination. 



By: Maurice Sendak
Harper & Row, 1963.
You can't have a book list about imagination without including the classic Where the Wild Things Are. This book follows a young boy stuck in his room that finds a way to escape to a place where wild things are by simply using his imagination. 

Honorable Mention:


By: Matthew Swanson
Imprint, 2017.
A boy demonstrates how your imagination can take you through time and anywhere as he journeys all over the world just by thinking it. 

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