Imaginary Fred

by Eoin Colfer, Oliver Jeffers (Illustrator)

Overview

From the internationally bestselling author Eoin Colfer and the New York Times Bestselling illustrator of The Day the Crayons Quit comes a quirky, funny, and utterly irresistible story.

Did you know that sometimes, with a little electricity, or luck, or even magic, an imaginary friend might appear when you need one? An imaginary friend like Fred.

Fred floated like a feather in the wind until Sam, a lonely little boy, wished for him and, together, they found a friendship like no other.

The perfect chemistry between Eoin Colfer's text and Oliver Jeffers's artwork makes for a dazzlingly original picture book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062379559
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/29/2015
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	NC760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Eoin Colfer is the New York Times bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series as well as two adult crime novels, Plugged, which was short-listed for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Screwed. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Oliver Jeffers makes art and tells stories. From his much-loved debut, How to Catch a Star, Oliver has gone on to create a collection of award-winning and bestselling picture books (including the illustrations for The Day the Crayons Quit, written by Drew Daywalt), which have been translated into many languages all over the world. Originally from Northern Ireland, Oliver now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Oliver used to have an imaginary friend called Egbert. But Egbert stole his bicycle and was last seen pedaling west as hard as he could. That was seventeen years ago.

Hometown:

Wexford Town, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland

Date of Birth:

May 14, 1965

Place of Birth:

Waterford City, County Waterford, Republic of Ireland

Education:

Bachelor of Education, 1986; Education Diploma, 1987

Website:

http://www.eoincolfer.com

Editorial Reviews

Jeffers could illustrate a tax return and make it funny; his charming, willowy pen-and-ink artwork adds his trademark irreverence to this gentle tale about the ever-shifting landscape of friendship.

The New York Times Book Review - Margo Rabb

★ 07/06/2015
In this smart collaboration, Colfer and Jeffers introduce Fred, a seasoned imaginary friend. Fred knows the drill: he keeps lonely children company until a human friend appears, then clears out (“Usually by lunchtime on the second day, Fred would be mostly invisible”). Jeffers’s spidery vignettes are perfectly synced to Colfer’s bubbly, confiding narrative, and he underscores Fred’s evanescent nature by giving him a body of half-tone aqua dots that deepen and fade. Secretly, Fred pines for a forever friend; his current human assignee, Sam, shares all of his interests—reading, music, playacting. When Sam meets a girl named Sammi, Fred is downcast, especially when Sam leaves a note that says he and Sammi are working on a comic book. “Comic book? thought Fred. That was our idea. Me and Sam.” But Sammi has her own imaginary friend, Frieda (her half-tone mesh is yellow), and the four thrive. There’s always anguish when a close friend finds someone new, but Colfer and Jeffers show that shuffling allegiances can sometimes multiply the fun. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Sophie Hicks, Sophie Hicks Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Paul Moreton, Bell, Lomax, Moreton Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

In this smart collaboration, Colfer and Jeffers introduce Fred, a seasoned imaginary friend. Jeffers’s spidery vignettes are perfectly synced to Colfer’s bubbly, confiding narrative.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“An effervescent bit of fun.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2015
Gr 1–3—As an imaginary friend, Fred comes to Earth when lonely children wish for him, becoming whatever they need him to be, whether a companion to throw a ball with or someone willing to become the ball. When his friends outgrow him, finding real friends, Fred starts to disappear and his blue pixelated form vanishes until there is barely a scrap of him left, "just enough for the wind to catch and whisk him into the sky." Jeffers's clean, expressive black lines serve to contrast the corporeal world of Fred's friends and the world around them with Fred himself, who has substance but no outline. One day a boy named Sam wishes for Fred, and at last Fred finds someone who shares his interests and might just be a real friend. Eventually, though, Sam finds a real friend and, once again, Fred feels himself start to disappear—until, that is, he meets Sam's imaginary friend, Frieda. Together, Fred and Frieda form an imaginary friendship so real they never fade away. Tongue-in-cheek details in Jeffers's illustrations, such as a pig getting hit by lightning in order to summon Fred to Sam's side, juxtapose ironically with Colfer's simple text in a manner that will doubtless please child readers, especially those fond of the artist's other work. VERDICT An effervescent bit of fun.—Anna Stover, Poughkeepsie Day School, NY

School Library Journal

2015-07-15
An imaginary person has needs of his own. Fred, whose humanlike shape is made of digital blue patterning with no outline, floats "like a feather in the wind until a lonely little child wish[es] for him." If the conditions are "just right"—a lightning strike, or maybe fish falling from the sky—he pops down to Earth and becomes that child's imaginary friend. It's always short-lived: as soon as the child finds "a real friend in the real world," Fred fades, whisked back to the sky until someone new needs him. Despite shabby treatment—the real-world kids poke him with swords, make him vacuum, toss him hoopward as if he's a basketball, and undress him to laugh at his (not graphically depicted) nakedness—Fred longs for a friendship to be permanent. Humor arrives in Jeffers' quirky line drawings (the art is largely black and white). Fred and a friend struggle "to understand how the toilet work[s]"; a musical quartet—two real musicians, two imaginary—baffles the audience: "Why are there only two of them?" Common to many imaginary-friend stories, the ontology may confuse: Fred may be invisible, but he has thoughts and desires, so is he really imaginary? Readers who sometimes or even often enjoy playing by themselves may not appreciate the text's heavy-handed insistence that "being alone is no fun." Not the solidest piece in the looking-for-a-friend genre. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews