Description The latest work from the incomparable author John Burningham! No introduction is needed for this beloved picture book creator. Known for his whimsical imagination, bold illustrations, and heartwarming stories that have delighted readers for years, Grandpa John Burningham is back with a brand-new book. What story awaits us this time? A picture book capturing children's desire to protect their imaginary world Children sometimes get lost in their own private world, a world of imagination that adults can never quite grasp. Flying through the sky to reach one's own imaginary realm is a common and timeless dream among children. Children who wish to protect their own world often become attached to whatever makes that imagination possible—and that something might just be a 'bed,' a vessel that carries them into dreams where imagination can roam free. The Magic Bed is a picture book that warmly portrays a child's desire to protect his own imaginary world, using a 'bed' as the medium. The stubborn boy George preserves his imaginary world through his 'magic bed.' George, who had insisted on keeping his old crib even though he'd outgrown it, ends up with a new bed that isn't the brand-new one his mother and grandmother wanted—but a worn secondhand bed. Yet this bed, it turns out, is a magic bed capable of mysterious journeys. The journeys taken aboard this bed belong to a world that adults, who have forgotten their pure hearts, cannot understand—and children know all too well that adults simply don't understand. Adults are beings who have already chosen to sever ties with such a world. But for George, the journeys he takes aboard the magic bed make his imagination real, granting him the best moments a child could ever dream of. Meeting fairies, discovering treasure hidden by pirates, swimming with dolphins—these are magical journeys where only-imagined things actually happen. Adults who dismiss this world of childhood so casually—like George's mother and grandmother, who cling to what's practical and new—might crush a child's dream of holding on to something old. But the author suggests: since a child is not yet an adult, and will grow up and understand in due time, why not let them imagine freely for now? After journeying with George, children may find themselves wanting to whisper a magic spell by their own bedside. [Mysterious Illustrations That Lead into a World of Imagination] As you travel with George aboard the magic bed, you'll encounter the mysterious world that John Burningham has brought to life. The delicate pastel tones and seemingly loose, childlike drawings make the magical spaces of the journey feel even more enchanting. Neither the sea nor the sky reflect the light of our everyday reality. A hazy yellow world where fairies dwell, a dark reddish-black sky leading into the jungle, a soft pink sky and a golden sea—these delicate, beautiful illustrations will help every reader slip into a joyful daydream. Story Summary George, who insists on keeping his old crib, gets scolded by his grandmother and mother, and heads out with his father to buy a new bed. On the way to the shopping center, George discovers a secondhand furniture shop. The shop owner shows them a bed that can supposedly fly through the sky—a 'magic bed.' George and his father end up buying it. While cleaning the bed, they find writing that says making a wish and reciting a spell will send you on a journey (though the exact spell is unclear). But George's grandmother and mother scold him for buying an old, worn-out bed. George works hard to figure out the spell, and one day, he finally discovers it and sets off on a journey aboard the bed. Along the way, George reads picture books to dwarfs and fairies, swims with dolphins, discovers treasure hidden by pirates, helps a lost baby tiger find its way home, and races broomstick-riding witches through the sky—living out everything he's ever imagined. George then goes on a family vacation with his parents, and during the trip, he completely forgets about the magic bed. When he returns home, he finds a brand-new bed in his room—and learns that the magic bed has been thrown away at the dump. George barely manages to climb aboard the bed just before it's discarded, recites the spell, and the bed whisks him off into the sky once more...