Clara and ASHA

Such a beautiful book to read. It really taps into how children (of any age!) can use their imagination. My 5 yr old boy really loves this book. Even his 7 yr old brother drops what he's doing when we're reading this. Perfect read for any child, boy or girl. And a pleasure to read at bedtime...perfect dream starter!

Amazing, amazing illustrations. Simple yet intriguing writing. Clara and her imaginary friend, Asha, tell a story most kids know and live in their minds. The flow of the pictures, characters and words allow one to delve into the mind of a child and relax to their thoughts. This book made me want to buy it for all the kids I know and read it to them together to watch their expressions as the pages turn.

While it doesn't have that wondrous vintage animation look that highlighted his Caldecott Medal winning "My Friend Rabbit," Eric Rohmann has another winner in always the classic motif of a girl and her fish. That's part of the fun here, we can imagine a girl or boy and his dog, or horse, or even pet rabbit--but a fish? With the exception of "Finding Nemo," "Mr. Limpet," and a few other famous fictional fish (and the former are both movies), the finned set is hardly the stuff of which dreams are made of. Yet, that's exactly what Rohmann does, and his enormous talent as storyteller and illustrator makes this seem almost as familiar and stories featuring animals that are more typical. Rohmann pulls off this by setting his fish tale within a standard kids' book formula: The youngster who has fantastic dreams about some object encountered while awake, often a toy. Even within this context, Rohmann shows his originality, for the referent is not some household plaything, but the fish that form the base of a fountain seen by the young girl at the park. The next problem with fish is that some people think they're slimy, ugly creatures akin to other people's image of snakes. So...how do you make a fish look loveable? Rohmann's oil paintings are uncluttered, fresh, and surprisingly light for their medium. The fish's big eyes and friendly face, it's very buoyancy, make it seem like a Macy's Parade float or a giant kite, rather than some dark, ugly-mouthed lunker bottom-feeding in some briny seawater. The fish actually looks huggable, and so when the little girl hugs her imagined fish, it looks real and seems--well, warm and cute. Rohmann also draws his well-known panoramas, including one where the giant (but floaty-friendly) fish takes her on a ride through the skies, planting her safely back to the bed from which she dreamed him. The dream device, by the way, is done in a subtle that permits a toddler audience to suspect that the gentle adventure might be more than "only a dream." As with "My Friend Rabbit," Rohmann the storyteller provides a little twist at the story's conclusion: When a big alligator shows up next at the girl's window, the most watchful of readers/listeners may remember seeing a toy alligator several pages earlier. Another simple yet imaginative outing from Rohmann.

My 18 month old daughter asks for this book every night. The pictures are absoultely delightful. My personal favorite pictures are the dreamy imagines of a little girl and her imaginary friend floating on bubbles in the sky. It is a book that I love reading over and over again. It is enchanting.

Clara and Asha is classic Eric Rohmann. A visual feast and delightful story. It has been a pleasure reading it with my children. Upon finishing the book I frequently hear the word "Again!". Clara has many friends, among them is a pink pig that shows up in most, but not all, of the paintings. My 2 year old loves finding the pig, especially the pig in the bathtub.