The Amazing Idea of You

by Charlotte Sullivan Wild (Author) Mary Lundquist (Illustrator)

The Amazing Idea of You
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Fans of Emily Winfield Martin will delight in this loving, gorgeously illustrated story that celebrates new life. Hidden inside every living thing is an idea. That idea can sprout, sing, wriggle, take wing . . . into something amazing!Exploring beginnings both small and great, The Amazing Idea of You bonds the human and natural worlds in a lyrical burst of celebration. So dig deep, fly high, look around, and find the extraordinary inside everything . . . including YOU!
Select format:
Hardcover
$17.99

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

A curious, active child with rosy cheeks and a chin-length bob plants an apple seed: "Hidden in this apple/ is the idea of a tree/ wrapped tight/ in this shiny seed." Animals and other natural objects are growing and becoming, too: a bird in an egg; a tadpole becoming a frog; and a caterpillar metamorphosing. "Even those waddling goslings hold the dream of whistling flight over lake and field." The girl also holds amazing potential: "And look at you!/ What ideas are hidden/ inside of you?" In Lindquist's clear, airy art, the child grows older, planting new apple trees as a young adult. At last, she picnics with her own children in the orchard she has grown: "All around are apples... And every last one/ has an idea inside./ Just like you." Ages 3-6. (Feb.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--Set in the rolling countryside, this inspirational picture book bursts with freshness in illustration and text. Deep inside every living thing is the idea that something amazing can emerge--an orchard from an apple seed, a leaping frog from a tadpole, a butterfly from a caterpillar. Beautiful ideas are inside every person as well--perhaps a new song, a colorful painting, or an invention not yet imagined. There are no limits to the greatness inside every living thing. The text is descriptive and appealing. The soft watercolor paintings emit feelings of hope and new possibility. The animal characters are detailed and adorable, and the young girl featured in the beginning of the story develops into a young woman by story's end. There is a recurring illustrative element on every spread: a softly painted leafy branch, which subtly ties each page together. VERDICT A gentle yet deliberate reminder of the greatness deep inside every living being.--Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"In Lindquist's clear, airy art, the child grows older, planting new apple trees as a young adult. At last, she picnics with her own children in the orchard she has grown: 'All around are apples . . . And every last one/ has an idea inside./ Just like you.'" —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Opaque, spring-bright colors in the watercolor, pencil, and gouache illustrations . . . complement the text's suggested importance of a human connection with nature. . . . [A] bedtime read-aloud about big ideas and the promise in everyone." —Kirkus Reviews

"Bursts with freshness in illustration and text . . . . A gentle yet deliberate reminder of the greatness deep inside every living being." —School Library Journal

"The language is lyrical and often stunning. . . A book to pore over and think about." —Booklist Online

Charlotte Sullivan Wild

Charlotte Sullivan Wild is the author of several picture books. Love, Violet, illustrated by Charlene Chua, was a Stonewall Book Award winner, Charlotte Huck Honor Book, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and Bookstagang's Best of 2022 winner for Future Classics and Community Favorites. Her debut picture book The Amazing Idea of You was illustrated by Mary Lundquist. She has previously worked as an educator, bookseller, volunteer radio host, and creator of children's literature events. Originally from frosty Minnesota, she now lives wherever her wife is stationed, recently in San Antonio, Texas and then Italy with a flock of spirited hens.

Charlene Chua
(she/they) is the illustrator of several picture books, including Pinkie Promises by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Amy Wu book series, and the Lambda Literary Honor and Stonewall Book Award Winner Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild. She is also the author-illustrator of Hug? When they are not making art, they enjoy cooking, reading, and playing with their cats. Charlene now lives with her husband (and cats!) in Hamilton, Ontario.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781681191836
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publication date
February 05, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV029000 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | General
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Individuality
Growth
Change

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