by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 06, 2010

It's a very special book. Illustrator Rob Gonsalves dedicates it to his Uncle Al, who "imagined I could be an artist." Gonsalves grew up drawing pictures from his imagination, the book's jacket explains, and eventually came to be influenced by the Surrealist art movement. "Imagine a Day" is a sequel to his earlier picture book - "Imagine a Night".  And in both books, author Sarah L. Thomson supplies hopeful poetic captions to some breathtaking surrealist paintings.

"Imagine a day...when you can dive down through branches or swim up to the sun," Thomson writes. Gonsalves' illustration shows a tree's reflection in the water of a lake - and three boys climbing the branches in the reflection to reach the lake's shore.  And the captions soon move away from literal interpretations, becoming even more abstract and inspiring.  "Imagine a day... when grace and daring are all we need to build a bridge," Thomson writes. And Gonsalves' illustration shows a bridge made from dozens of acrobats - as it supports the weight of an oncoming freight train.

Each illustration is gorgeous, and their realism adds to the book's magical effect. For example, the lake's surface is almost bright mirror, so there's a perfect symmetry as it reflects trees on the horizon (as well as the tree that the boys climb).  There's a hazy summer day in the distance, which suggests there's been some strange enchantment. And in the illustration of the oncoming freight train, there's a beautiful blue sky in the background - as the bridge spans a beautiful dark blue ocean.

Gonsalves worked as both an architect and a mural painter - so maybe he's already experienced the joy of seeing his ambitious visions being realized in the real world. Maybe he's simply sharing that excitement when he draws a boy who creates a skyscraper out of building blocks.  And besides the acrobats building a bridge, there's also a house that materializes just by assembling the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. A sand castle towers over the people on a beach, and every tree in the forest turns into the spire of a grand cathedral.

"Imagine a day...when everything you build touches the sky," Thomson writes - and her positive tone subtly transforms the illustrations into something more meaningful. "Imagine a day...when you build the world around you piece by piece... Imagine a day... when the edge of the map is only the beginning of what we can explore."

"Imagine a day...when grace and daring are all we need to build a bridge."

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