#bookreview - Imaginary Friends: 26 Fables for the Kid in Us

Every once in a while, you receive an e-mail that really makes you smile. I mean, how often does someone you met randomly during a blogfest write to you and send you their newly published book for review and say that they love your blog? =)

Imaginary Friends: 26 Fables for the Kid in Us is a collection of 26 short stories in alphabetical order (uh - A to Z challenge baby?) written by Melanie Lee, illustrated by Sheryl Khor, and published by MPH Group Publishing. 

From the press release:

At first glance, Imaginary Friends may look like a typical children’s book. However, upon closer reading, you will find that its sophisticated wit and references to modern culture make it an enjoyable read for teens and adults who are young at heart.

"We've been reading a lot of books to our children," says Khor, "and we realised that a similar concept of short narratives anchored by tongue-in-cheek illustrations could also work for adults, especially in today's hurried, attention-deficit society."

Adds Lee, “While the main characters in this books are animals or grocery items, they were written for a very human audience in mind. In fact, many of the life lessons that are stated at the end of each story are things I’d wished the ‘older people’ had told me about when I was in my late teens and early 20s!”

With plenty of rib-tickling humour and heart-warming moments, these 26 modern-day fables are bound to make you ponder about life. 

They even have a promo video!

Imaginary Friends: 26 Fables for the Kid in Us by Melanie Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When you see the word "Fable" you'd automatically think it's for kids, right?

Wrong.

Imaginary Friends: 26 Fables for the Kid in Us might make interesting reading for a kid, but it really is for us Big Kids. For one, you'd get really tired explaining all the big words, even in the chapter titles. For another, I don't think the you really want your kids to know about Chucky the Calico Cat being euthanised, Friendly Froyo Freda backstabbing Ingrid Ice Cream and Bitchy Brownie or Olivia the Overachieving Octopus being served up as fresh tako sashimi despite really valid morals such as "Never be too smug about success or good fortune; you’ll never know when the shit will hit the fan" and "Always treat celebrity gossip as fiction".

The only complaint I would have is that not all the fables sound fable-like enough - but that could be just a matter of preference.

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I received a review copy of this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

MELANIE LEE is a writer and editor in Singapore. Her work has been published in Travel + Leisure (Southeast Asia), Yahoo! Singapore and TODAY newspaper, amongst others. She has also co-authored a spiritual book, Quiet Journeys: Finding Stillness in Chaos, and edited heritage and architecture coffee-table books. For more information, please visit her website at melanielee.sg.

SHERYL KHOR is a writer and self-taught illustrator in Singapore. Trained in Creative Arts, with experience in theatre, web and fashion design, she now hones her skills with crafting sessions at home with her two young children. She also designs for bricolageboutique.com, an online fashion store.

Imaginary Friends: 26 Fables for the Kid in Us is available at Kobo and Amazon. Visit their facebook page for the full list of where you can purchase this ebook.