Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this copy of If.... to read and review!

If.... by Sarah Perry is a strange children's book. It's a little mature for young pre-readers but likely too young for readers. My 3,5 yr old son and I read this together. The book has pages with the concepts of magnets and Braille which go over his head entirely and are not easily explained. This is always frustrating when reading to my kids.

Many pages I found disturbing, unsettling, and creepy. When I snuggle and read with my children, the last image I need in my head is toes for teeth. Like, what the heck? Why??

However, my son did like it. He does indeed have a strange taste in books as he loves the bizarre old stories of Theo LeSieg like Wacky Wednesday (another very disturbing book....), the silliness of Richard Scarry, and the oddness of Shel Silverstein's poetry.

Even though he liked it, because I am the one reading it, my opinion trumps his. I would not purchase this book or recommend it. If mice were hair? I would throw up and want to die. Ew.

This is a great reprint.
This is a great book for helping bend your imagination.
Some of the artwork has been used in examples or other famous works.
The imagination is tested by the images and words to make you think out of the box.

4 imaginative stars
If... is one of those rare interactive books to get readers (and those read to) to ponder art, imagination, and even the absurd. It invites them to see the world in a new way. It gives the perusers things to count and colors to find, questions to ask.
The only page I did not like was ‘if... mice were hair.’ Yuck. I LOVED ‘if... music could be held.’ I have long imagined a similar magical picture.
Author Sarah Perry hope the book would trigger a smile (whether private or shared. If... still does, 25 years after its first printing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Such fantastic illustrations - so clever. I will inspect my toothpaste carefully tonight: check out the image for yourself.

This is a beautiful book that I think children would love to explore. There is so much you can talk about in each picture and nothing is quite what it seems. I love the illusions which blur reality and can imagine many different ways that this book could be used across the curriculum to inspire writing, art and creativity.

Wonderful nook - don't miss it!

A marvelously illustrated book that is perfect for engaging a child’s imagination. It opens a world of creative possibilities to anyone looking to expand what is real and fathomable.

This is a dada book. It encourages fantasy, imagination and introspection. It made me think about all the different ways the world can be seen, all the perspectives I didn't even consider yet. It's a wonderful book about ideas, creation, poetry and image. I loved it.

A mix of what ifs and fine art for children. Much more high minded than most picture books and still accessible to young ones. The photos are though provoking and will likely lead to lots of what if drawings by readers who are also aspiring young artists.

If. . . by Sarah Perry is sure to set curiosities running. Both funny and imaginative, I imagine this book will help foster dialogue with children and get them creating their own “If” combinations.

Fuel for the Imagination

Even though this book has been out for 25 years, I hadn't heard of it. What an incredibly visually stunning and imaginative book! If you are new to the book like me, what the author does is present an “if” scenario like “If caterpillars were toothpaste…” and then has a detailed, usually colorful, and sometimes amusing illustration of that idea. Some illustrations were funny. I particularly liked the unfortunately magnetic turtle, who didn't look thrilled about all those items attached to its back! This book could be simply enjoyed on its own, or it could be used to encourage a child's imagination, where they could come up with their own implausible “if” scenarios and maybe even draw them. I love it when books inspire imagination in kids. My own love of reading started in childhood and stemmed from using my imagination to “see” the book or imagine new stories for favorite characters. To this day, I still love the adventures that books take me on. I love that, in this book, the reader is encouraged to both enjoy the whimsy of the book itself and come up with her or his own scenarios. The author does have a two-page reader guide in the back that first tells of the different ways you could use this book with a child and then shares some things to look for in a few of the illustrations. A fun book to encourage playfulness and seeing other possibilities.

It took me an inordinate amount of time to figure out how to view this book. My apologies!

I am glad I persisted, it is a magical and thought-provoking little read. My children talk like this all day long, if teachers were cats or if I could talk to mongooses. If butterflies were travelling princesses. I love any book that promotes imagination and storytelling, the interactive element is delightful!

I would love to own a hard copy one day.

A lovely, thought-provoking book. Very enjoyable and would definitely recommend to parents. Could be good for class discussions.

What a lovely little book this is. Illustrations are thought-provoking and beautifully done, and each one is as enchanting as the last. The bit which explains the ideas behind the images is an especially nice addition.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Getty Publications and Sarah Perry for my ARC.

This picture book gave me so much Dixit-vibes :) I loved it. The pictures were beautiful and very interesting, I can imagine them as a Dixit card. This book is perfect to think.
I knew that this book will be surrealistic, and I am not a fan of that. I requested this book because I was interested in it. I was not sure that I will like it, but I was too curious. Some pictures were amazing for me and wanted to see more about it, some were disgusting and some were a little bit boring. I gave 3 stars because of that and because I am not a fan of surrealism at the end, but it surprised me in a good way :)

What an inspirational book! I am only sorry that I missed its original publication because I can visualize the possibilities to use this in the classroom to spark creativity and imagination.

I requested and received this book from Sarah Perry and Getty Publications through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a weird and strange book that encourages kids to use their imaginations. Some of the illustrations were creepy and some of them were thought provoking. As long as you have an imagination this book will be fun and allow you to explore your own wild ideas.

Absolutely ingenious. Illustrations that fill you with every kind of emotion, from laughter, to wonder, to awww... and that’s just outright gross. A challenge at the end to dream up your own crazy ideas, accompanied by a readers guide explaining the inspiration behind some of the bewildering illustrations.

I would highly recommend this whether it’s for your child or yourself, I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this book.

If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be “If dogs were mountains...”

I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.
I thought it was okay, not my cup of tea though..

This is a beautiful book for dreamers and those who like to explore the thought of if.... As such it will surprise you, make you want to keep on dreaming creatively and also to explore the world around you - both the natural world as we know it and one that could be.

First of all the book is a teaser since if you don't read the description then there isn't much to tell you about what the story may actually be about. Then again the magic begins if you also pay attention to the cover and notice the details of its illustration.

The writing itself is very simple and easy to follow so beginning readers will find this a good book to start reading on. Each page has only just a few words to explain the thought while the following illustration is what drives home the point in a beautiful visual.

And although the words are calming and inspiring it is most definitely the beautiful and brightly colored illustrations that bring it altogether. Although there are a few illustrations that didn't really stand out to me like the toes, the worms and the zebras, all of the rest of them did and they were charming. I found a few that just had me laughing with the thought.

In the end I have to say I found a new children's book that I like and I cannot wait to find someone to share it with....

**Please note I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review**

‘If...’ (the 25th Anniversary Edition) is a book full of whimsical and thought-provoking questions, coupled with surreal imagery. It invites you to exercise your imagination and expand upon the amazing things pictured.

If cats could fly...
If music could be held...
If ugly were beautiful...

This book is accompanied at the end by a fantastic reading guide that encourages readers to ask ‘if... what then?’. This section perfectly demonstrates how to explore ‘If...’ in further depth and really show how these types of questions can turn any kernel of an idea into a writing or art prompt!

Disclaimer: Thank you Netgalley & Getty Publications for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a book I will be buying for the library!

This book was silly and wonderful, full of interesting scenarios for you to imagine with your children or students. I imagine this book would make an excellent choice to teach hypotheticals to young ESL students or just to have some fun.