Imogene's Antlers

One day when Imogene wakes up, she realizes that she had grown antlers over night! Although her mother is horrified with this sudden change in her daughter's apperance, Immogene is unfazed and other people in her household find very useful applications for her new addition.
This book lends itself to discussions on appearence and acceptance as well as how we are all unique and can find very useful ways to use our differences for good. It is a fun read and can see children really enjoying the silly illustrations of a young girl with antlers ( )

"On Thursday, when Imogene woke up, she found she had grown antlers. Getting dressed was difficult, and going through a door now took some thinking..." And so begins this delightfully comic picture-book masterpiece from David Small, first published in 1985, and featured in that classic children's television program, Reading Rainbow. Imogene navigates her house and her day, meeting each new challenge created by her unusual appendages with aplomb, and enjoying some of the unexpected benefits - like being a walking bird-feeder! - that they provide. When Friday comes, the antlers have disappeared... but a new surprise is in store!

I have loved Imogene's Antlers from the day I first picked it up, while working in the children's section of a bookstore as a young woman (somehow I missed it, as a little girl), and always get a kick out of the dry, understated humor of David Small's narrative and artwork. The image in which Imogene gets caught on the chandelier, after sliding down the bannisters, is just hilarious! Rereading it today on my morning commute, I shared it with a new mother, who (naturally) found it adorable, but also commented: "Imogene has lots of servants!" Which is quite true, and something I'd not noticed before. But while some of the details of setting and character here are rather old-fashioned - Imogene's mother is constantly fainting, the doctor makes house-calls, the concerned family call in a milliner(!) - the end-result feels fresh and contemporary, for all that. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a little bit of absurdist humor in their picture-book! ( )

Been a long time since I last read this one. Reissued for 25th anniversary of publication. ( )

Marvelous boo. Great prose, great illustrations. Will appeal to'your young ones and you will enjoy it, too. ( )

Marvelous boo. Great prose, great illustrations. Will appeal to'your young ones and you will enjoy it, too. ( )