I'd never heard of this book before, what a fantastic concept! Great for curious and playful minds, I can hear the kids giggling away at it now.

This book will be a delight to school-age children who are beginning to develop a sense of more complex humor and ideas. Adults and teens who appreciate art will also enjoy it. Some of the pictures startled me when I flipped to them (example was the mice in hair), but this only lasted a few seconds and then I liked the uniqueness. The intriguing “if” statements followed by the lush illustrations are a great pairing. I do not remember reading the original book, so the concept seems refreshing to me. This is a title for not only reading, but it can be a path to creative writing and artistic expression in classrooms and libraries.
Thanks to Getty Publications for an e-galley.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am first reviewing this for myself. I find some of these pictures interesting and some super unsettling and terrifying (What if toes were teeth??? No thank you!) But as a mother, I think my 3-year-old would probably find it interesting, and probably as she gets older she'd only be more interested in making up more "What ifs." But I don't know if I could deal with seeing the horrorshow of toes for teeth long enough to let her really enjoy it until she's old enough to read it on her own.

If by Sarah Perry
If is a beautifully illustrated book. Each page encourages the imagination to run in all directions. I can just see this book being read in a group of 4 year olds, priceless! A unique way to instill thought and communication of all ages. This would make a nice party get acquainted game.

I'm not gonna lie, the cover itself is what pulled me towards this book. The very strange fish on a plant esthetic had me curious, and with a title like "If..." - the suspense was killing me.

Apparently it was made back in the 90s, so I'm shocked I never picked it up as a kid. I devoured books as a child, but my city wasn't super diverse in it's library offerings. Lucky me, I get to pick up this book so many years later!

This story presents many "what if" scenarios like cats flying and magnetic turtles. The pictures are beautiful and the story is soft, simple and sweet. This book is definitely for a very young audience, but it's a very fun book. I could see three to five year olds bonding with parents and reading buddies over this joyful little book.

My biggest positives:
1. The art is FANTASTIC. The Siamese cat flying was beautifully drawn, and that's just one of many. Add that to the wild cover page, and you've got some wildly beautiful art. It didn't feel like a picture book, because it was just so darn pretty.

2. The creativity of some of these what ifs is absolutely wild. Worms with wheels?! I never wouldh ave imagined it. I am totally impressed. Except for my only negative of the book.

3. The braille shout-out! I totally approve and got super excited to see that splash of diversity! That's not a word I see too often and man am I proud!

4. The Reader's Guide at the end was very interesting to read as an adult reader. The kids might not like it as much, but I was intrigued. It had me thinking like a kid again!

My (obviously very personal) negatives:
1. Mice... as... hair... What? Why? Who thought of this?! Honestly, I'm curious. I'm horrified. My hair as mice?...

Overall, I'd say this is a must read picture book. It stands in line with Robert Munsch's classics, The Hungry Caterpillar, Grandma and the Pirates (my personal fave) and other wonderful popular books. This book is unique, full of creativity and imagination, and totally thought provoking. We need more books like If... littering the shelves of children everywhere.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Getty Publications for this awesome opportunity to pick up this literary classic.

Lovely surrealistic illustrations of the "what if" premise. The book is a wonderful tool to start the creative processes of children and adults. What would it look like if cats drove or cows played cards. A definite purchase for my collection.

I loved this book! The art is beautiful and the rhyme is wonderful. It'd be the perfect bedtime story for kids!

This book is great! As a speech pathologist, I can use this book to teach all ages. It has a chance to answer wh-questions. Children can also ask their own questions. The illustrations are beautiful, and useful to talk about adjectives and have the students use their own writing skills. I service children from the ages 3-21 and feel that this book can be used by all ages. This is definitely on my purchase list.

My nine year old son and I received an advance reviewer copy of the new edition of this book. We’d never read it before.

We enjoyed all of the pictures and the secrets described at the end. The ideas were interesting, surprising, and sometimes weird—in a good way. They got us thinking about if the world was different from how it is now.

It’s similar to another favorite of ours, Imagine a World. Enjoy!

What a beautiful and timeless classic! A wonderful book that encourages young and old to use their imagination.
Beautiful illustrations as well!

I had a smile on my face as I flipped through each page of this book. It truly captures the magic and joy of childhood. Each page brings imagination to life by illustrating "what if" scenarios in beautiful and detailed drawings. This is the type of book children and parents will enjoy reading over and over again. In my mind, this is the perfect example of everything a children's book should be.

I absolutely loved the illustrations in this book. They are probably the best I’ve ever seen! It was a little strange, but I like strange!

I adore this children's book and love the idea of these crazy pairs that the author put together. Sarah Perry explores and illustrates what it would look like: if cats could fly, if mice were hair, or if worms had wheels. And much more.

Illustrations are lovely, and the whole design of this book is beautiful.

I have a mixed feeling about this collection. Some of the pictures are wonderful, sparks imagination, and some of other pictures are giving me chills, too surreal, and yet too real, feels like the nightmare coming true. I guess that also shows a powerful side of this book.

A quirky fun book that invites your imagination out to play - the pages offer up simple "what ifs" vibrantly illustrated (sometimes more than meets the eye at first glance). Whether you simply giggle over the creative possibilities or use the ideas to spark your own, kids and adults alike will enjoy a fantastical flip through theses pages.

I just reviewed If... by Sarah Perry. #If #NetGalley

Opening the book, I had no clue what would be inside. A picture book? Nicely drawn images? But actually the author promotes imagination of something different, and makes us create stories of the unknown.

Twenty-five years after its original publication, If by Sarah Perry still holds up. The perfect book to read to young children to begin a conversation about what could be.

Review of eBook

Imagination takes flight in the pages of this stunning book. Over a two-page spread, twenty-two different “what if” fantastical suppositions are matched with a full-page illustration. What if: cats could fly . . . dogs were mountains . . . music could be held . . . whales lived in outer space . . . the moon were square?

But the colorful watercolor illustrations reveal even more. What can you discover? And what is your own “What if” idea?

Although intended for young readers ages four through seven, this magical picture book, a twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the original publication, is sure to delight readers of all ages. Two new “what ifs” have been added for this edition: What if turtles were magnetic . . . and What if dreams were visible . . . . And don’t miss the surprises awaiting you in the Readers Guide to the Secrets of “If . . .”

Take an imaginative journey of endless possibilities and see where this book takes you.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Getty Publications and NetGalley
#If #NetGalley

This is the 25th anniversary version of this book of which I was completely unware until I got an email about it asking if I'd like to review it. It sounded good to me, and now I'm happy that I did because this book is beautiful, and amazing, and it's lots of fun. My kids would have loved this too, when they were younger. They probably still would.

The book, some fifty pages long, asks a question and then illustrates it in gorgeous detail and bold colors. The cover illustrates one of the internal pages, which asks "What if leaves were fish," and shows a branch with some fruit and a bunch of shoaling green fish! There are pages showing slumbering dogs as foothills, butterflies as clothes, flying cats, hair made of mice, worms on wheels and dreaming meerkats. The author, in a small section at the back, invites the readers' imagination to run wild, using her illustrations, and combining them or making up stories about them - or dreaming up your own.

This was an amazing, sweet, fun, and wonderful book and I highly commend it.

I absolutely love this book. One of my favorites was What if teeth were toes. I love the detail in all of the pictures. The book makes me wonder what other possibilities are out there. Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.