Children's imagination first - books with a difference | Picture This Books

“They don’t have much shelf appeal”

This was genuine feedback from a retailer just a few months after launch. It didn’t work out. Rather than try and persuade them that our books were for them – we were quickly convinced that their shop was not for us. After all, they were missing the point. Which is that children’s imagination is what completes these books and makes them stand out. It might get lost in translation on the adult choosing stock – but trust us, the children love it. Tell a child “hey, you can draw on these ones!” and watch their eyes light up.

Picture-This Books™ is a new concept in children’s books, but it’s really not that complicated. Designed to take children on a tour of their imagination, Picture-This Books™ are completely ‘picture-less,’ – allowing children the space to get creative and illustrate the storybooks themselves. The books are designed to celebrate children’s imagination and help it to flourish.

How do these children’s books, encourage and nurture children’s imagination?

The books are a blank canvas – all words and no pictures. Picture-This Books are wordier than classic picture books, in which the tale is told through intertwining words and illustrations. Instead, Picture-This Books give children enough detail so they may visualise the setting, characters and plot – but not so much that they can’t add their own creative license throughout.

Children read the story (or have it read to them) once through, and then go back to the start of the book, adding their own drawings on the opposite page. We recommend a page or two at a time. A playful and therapeutic activity that nurtures busy imaginations and the creative thought process.

Picture-This Books™ are a celebration of children’s imagination and offer a blank canvas for their bright and brilliant creativity.

Shamelessly wild and free (sometimes embarrassingly so), our children’s imaginations are so powerful that they can think and dream without restraint – or caffeine. Imagine that?

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Gifts for kids | All words and no pictures

Armed with little more than their imagination (perhaps accessorised with some wings or a cape), children can go anywhere, do anything and be anyone. They are boundless. It isn’t always ideal when trying to get the weekly shop done, but it’s pretty enviable all the same.

It’s the kind of energy that never knowingly tires – exhausting as it is for us parents.

The Picture-This Books™ series has been created to celebrate these fleeting and precious years.

Every word in a Picture-This Books™ story has been carefully considered so that children can read or hear it and apply their unique interpretation to it.

They can create their characters, embellish their own worlds and see their imagination staring back at them when the book (and adventure) ends.

Written with a gentle and reassuring tone, Picture-This Books™ also feature calming affirmations throughout and speak directly to the child – making them the protagonist, as well as the illustrator.

For creativity

The books themselves are dedicated to encouraging children to explore their imagination and embrace their creativity. And, because Picture-This Books™ are created for children to read first and then illustrate, they also make a fun-filled comprehension activity.

In practice

Picture-This Books™ can be drawn on in pencil, crayon and most felt tip pens. It’s as fun as it sounds, and children LOVE playing illustrator. What makes these books different is that the children themselves personalise them – they even get to add their name to the front cover!

Imagining Better

Magical tales, open to children’s unique interpretation, mean no two finished books are ever the same – just like the children illustrating them. Just add your child’s imagination and bam – how’s that for shelf-appeal? The books are also BIG on promoting kindness, empathy and a celebration of difference.

Independence

At the back of each book, is a page dedicated to your child. This page has space to record the date, age, and the important stuff and business of childhood – like the names of their friends and what they want to do when they grow up. The inside back cover has an ‘About the Illustrator’ section for your child to write their own illustrator bio and even attach a photograph. Children love this part, and it’s a brilliant way to encourage confidence.

Goodness

It’s for charity, mate…

For every copy of The Imagination Garden (book 1 in the series) purchased, a second is donated to charity and gifted to a child currently living in challenging circumstances. There’s a story behind this. You can find out more on our 1-for-2 page.

We plan to increase our charity partnerships in 2023. Watch this space.

And breathe

Affirmations accompany each of our books and are used to guide, reassure, and promote focus and problem-solving. These, coupled with the act of illustrating the story as they read, make Picture-This Books™ an age-appropriate mindfulness practice to encourage calm and connection – not to mention children’s imagination. Our books are frequently used in children’s yoga and mindfulness classes, and parents say they help alleviate after-school restraint collapse.