Penguin Random House
Milo Imagines the World
Why bury the lede? The Newbery Medal-winning author and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator behind the bestseller Last Stop on Market Street have released a new picture book, Milo Imagines the World, from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. And it is beautiful, in its message and on the pages.
The book follows young Milo as he and his older sister ride the subway to go visit their incarcerated mother. De la Peña does not immediately tell the reader that Milo’s mother is incarcerated, though there are clues sprinkled throughout. Rather than be about Milo’s mother’s status, the book is about Milo and how he sees the world. It’s about Milo’s journey to the realization that imagination beats impressions.
De la Peña’s prose is lovely, evoking all the interwoven, jostling emotions of being a child venturing into a larger world. “These monthly subway rides are never ending, and as usual, Milo is a shook-up soda. Excitement stacked on top of worry on top of confusion on top of love,” de la Peña writes. “To keep himself from bursting, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives.”
As Milo sits on the subway, he draws illustrations of the people around them, what their lives might be like. The whiskered man frowning over a crossword puzzle — Milo draws him at home, alone, sadly playing solitaire. Milo sees a boy in a suit — his hair parted perfectly, his Nikes spotless — and imagines the boy lives in a castle, arriving by horse-drawn carriage. Milo draws the boy eating gourmet crust-free sandwiches made by a chef.
When the boy in the suit (with his father) and Milo and his sister all get off at the same stop, all line up to go through the prison’s metal detector, all end up in the same visitor’s room, Milo realizes his extrapolated illustrations were a mistake. He and his sister visit with their mother, and Milo gives her a picture of them together. On the subway ride home, Milo redraws his earlier renditions, this time with more imagination, which is to say, with more empathy and goodwill.
Milo Imagines the World takes readers on a journey, and the name of the game here is “show, don’t tell.” As such, the message is never heavy-handed. De la Peña and Robinson let the reader draw their own conclusions, and the message is all the stronger for it. Imagine that.
Thank you to Cotton Tails, the place to find unique children's clothing and shoes, found in the Laurelwood Shopping Center, and Literacy Mid-South for sponsoring this children’s book review! Learn more about the various programs offered by Literacy Mid-South by visiting their site literacymidsouth.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram @literacymidsouth.