I DIDN'T ASK TO BE CREATIVE

A boy tries to help his mother find her lost creativity in this debut rhyming picture book.

One day, Kyle and his grandfather find an old box the boy’s mother threw away and turn it into the basis for an imaginary submarine. “A submarine? Is that what it is? I never would have guessed,” Kyle’s mother asserts. After hearing from his grandfather that his mother used to be artistic, Kyle starts making plans to help her find her lost creativity by sharing how he sees the world. The next day, Kyle spends the day with his mother, telling her how even when they are doing errands, they could be rock stars, pirates, royalty, or astronauts. Eventually, Kyle gives up, but when all the chores are done, his mother makes him a surprise decoration to show him she cares. In this moving tale, Pittman deftly captures the way imaginative kids perceive their surroundings as well as the busy sense of urgency many adults have when they feel they don’t have time for creativity. But the rhyming text is laid out in chunky blocks, sometimes making the phrases and rhythms difficult to spot. Rambaldi’s beautiful, detailed, painterly illustrations depict Kyle’s family members with slightly different shades of brown skin. The images alternate Kyle’s imagined world with his mother’s firm reality until both unite at the end.

A touching story about imagination bringing a parent and child closer together.