There is nothing I love more than sitting down of an evening with my children and reading them a bedtime story. They are two very different ages - 8 and 2, yet this wonderfully illustrated book help and captivated both of their imaginations! A gorgeous, thought provoking book that will stand the test of time and is a beautiful addition to any story book collection.

Thanks to #netgalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have the original version of If... and have read it many times to challenge children's thinking, spark their creativity and initiate wonderings.
IF is a book of surreal possibilities. It can be explored in many different ways. Use a single illustration or combine several to create your own stories. For example, "If frogs ate rainbows..." what would their croaks sound like/look like? From the front cover illustration of oranges growing on a branch of fish "leaves" to the end, each illustration is preceded by an introductory phrase such as “If butterflies were clothes, if lightning made rhinos, " while
the illustration completes the sentence on the next page.
The end of the book invites you to continue creating your own "what if..." IF takes ordinary things and invites us to create extraordinary possibilities.
Great book for showing #growthmindset.

What a lovely book to stir the imagination, not only of children but of us fuddy duddy adults as well. A book to be dipped into time and time again, a book to dream on - a book to wonder what if all the people in the world thought of "if"s what a wonderful peaceful world this could be.
Love this book, a wonderful gift to share.

With children ages 3, 6 and 9, I read a lot of picture books and don’t like most of them. So, I was surprised at how delighted I was by Sarah Perry’s If... . The illustration style is realistic but once you take a quick second to look closer, you see the bizarre and enchanting combinations of animals, objects and environments reconfigured into surrealistic scenes. My 3-year-old laughed he turned each page to an amusing picture. Every illustration is preceded by an intro phrase. For example: “If turtles were magnetic...” When you turn the page, the illustration completes the sentence. The end of the book invites you to continue creating your own juxtapositions. I love how this book creatively upends how we conventionally see things and invites us to do so more.

I got an eARC from the publisher for the 25 years edition of this book.

I just love looking at these images and start to think about other If... s and what pictures I would draw.

Hilarious, mind boggling and amazing :0)

A book dedicated to the odd and the imagined. The illustrations are gorgeous. softly drawn and colorful with one question, “If...”. Encouraging you to use your imagination. What if cats could fly? What if worms had wheels? I like the open ended questions and thought provoking pictures. The weird and the interesting. A fun book to look at with kids.

If is a delightful short book full of creativity, imagination and beautiful watercolor illustrations. This fed my inner child, my sense of whimsy, and my sense of wonder! I love it!

Sure to be adored by children and adults alike, the "what if" lines are great beginnings for story-telling, giving the readers a chance to dip into their own creativity.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Getty Publications for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed are my own.

“Surreal possibilities”

Surrealism at its best! This was one of the most uncomfortable and interesting books. Some of the concepts were strange yet appealing. I don’t think I’ll ever look at toothpaste the same after seeing caterpillar toothpaste. Illustrations are very creative and encourage new ideas and combinations.

My favorite was the dog mountains, fish leaves, and cloud spirits. I haven’t read the first edition, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wasn’t disappointed. This is for anyone who likes daydreaming and have vivid imaginations. But also, for people who aren’t creative and want some exposure. I have some artistic friends who I think will love this!

From the cover to end-plates, and everything in between, this book is beautiful. Each new page reveals dynamic drawings that offer more and more details with each viewing. The pictures range from elegantly breathtaking to downright unsettling, creating an immersive experience for the reader. The Reader’s Guide at the end offers some great information to help guide readers in their exploration of the illustrations, sure to be a hit with parents. This reprint of a classic is sure to enchant a new generation of young readers.

I loved this book. Beautifully illustrated, 'If...' is a wonderfully imaginative book filled with ideas that change the way you think. With ideas as simple as, "If cats could fly...", "If zebras had stars and stripes...", and my favourite, "If turtles were magnetic...". and fantastical images to illustrate them, this really does stretch the imagination. A lovely book just to read alone, but I think it would bring real joy to discuss this with children and let their imaginations run riot. Thank you to Sarah Perry, Net Galley and the publisher, Getty Publications for an ARC.

I have a copy of the original publication which was published in 1995. I fell in love with its uniqueness, imaginative qualities and especially the artwork. I have the same feeling when I read it as I experience when I look at Salvador Dali's works of art. It's a picture book of surreal possibilities making it a classic worthy of a special 25th anniversary edition.

This enhanced edition includes two brand new stories together with a sprinkling of freshly added spot illustrations. The illustrations are created in beautiful watercolours. They are large, crisp and truly intriguing.

I for a while had my book displayed on my coffee table, in plain sight, so visitors could enjoy the magical book as well. Both young and old readers will be mesmerized and delighted as they thumb through Sarah Perry's fantastical world.

The book will now be reissued in 2020, enhanced and expanded, so a brand-new generation will be able to enjoy it. The author has included at the end of the book a Readers' Guide to the Secrets of "If..." which I found very interesting indeed. The book is delightful, original, and one that kids (and adults) will go back to read (and ponder) again and again. It would be a wonderful tool for art teachers to use to stimulate their classes or for creative writing projects. I highly, highly recommend this book.

I received an ARC of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book has a collection of thought provoking and beautiful artwork. I loved reading and studying each picture and am going to read back through it and talk about each picture with my daughter.
A fantastic book for play on words and developing imagination.

Loved this book!!! The turtles are my favorite I think :) Every library and artist should have a copy for sure!

Now and again you get a book that's just that little too off-kilter and unusual you can't work out what to make of it. And for me this was one – allegedly a classic for the last twenty-five years and yet something I'd never heard of nor seen; a collection of wonderful visual ideas, such as the representation of music if it could be held in the hand; and at times a deep effort, and at other times inanely silly, pointing out the visual similarity toothpaste has with a caterpillar, and so on. Some of the images are charming – a landscape of dozing dogs, some are Pythonesque – the teeth on a girl's face that almost seem to want to become piano keys yet are actually toes, which is even worse, some are just weirdly unsettling. So there is clearly a variety in this selection of bluntly-presented dreamscapes, but I have no idea what the point of buying this would ever be. You flick through it in ten seconds flat, react to the pages, the end. Just what, apart from sharing it occasionally with people you hope are on its wavelength, would it ever be worth putting on your shelf for? Worth reading, not worth buying to read – this is a real curate's egg. I don't like to be so dismissive of the talent that is undoubtedly on display here in the visuals and some of the ideas, but I still can't equate that with the use of purchasing this.

The art in this book, and it really is art, would be worth seeing even if there were no words. It is such a great way to get a child’s imagination working.

This book is bizarre, but definitely in a good way. The children I work with will enjoy studying these images to see what they can discover. Every time I have looked at the illustrations in this book I have found something I hadn't noticed before. The book will be great for discussion in class.

A surreal collection of artworks representing childlike imaginations. The illustrations are deeper than is first apparent. Butterflies as clothing, dogs as mountains, fish as leaves and so on and so forth. Beautiful artworks preceded by If... statements. Found the If toes were teeth very intriguing! Vibrant artworks, some are amusing whilst others are though provoking. Beautiful book.

This book was received from the publishers via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Really surprising little book with surreal ideas, associating subjects that have very little or nothing to do with each other. Some of them have at least a visual resemblance (for example the caterpillar as toothpaste), but most are quite mindblowing. A refreshing view, entertaining and stimulating creative thinking.

This is definitely surreal, as advertised. If... is a collection of fanciful artwork that invites readers to imagine outlandish possibilities. Each picture is preceded by a simple "if" statement. The reader is then left to look at the picture and elaborate on the imaginative possibilities.

Some of the pictures are just a little too weird (If toes were teeth... kind of grossed me out), but many really do make the reader think. This could be a great book in a classroom setting if used as a catalyst for creative writing projects. The illustrations--subject matter aside--are all well done.

I think I probably would recommend this one, especially to creative readers who are looking for jumping-off points for their own stories.

Ever wondered what's inside a child's mind? It's this book. A child thinks of flying cats, of mountains as dogs, and the moon as a square. It's a wonderful journey into imagination and the possibilities of the human mind. Based solely on that, it does it's purpose admirably. However, some things were just out of place. Some were creepy, I mean toes instead of teeth? However, many inspired me into thinking about more things like this, which is what this book was trying to do. The anniversary edition includes two more stories. I'm looking forward for more books like this one.