826's Big Book of IFs
With Paramount Pictures’ latest film IF as inspiration, children around the nation put pens to paper to bring their imaginary friends to life through writing. Together, 826 and Paramount Pictures are publishing three books of youth writing inspired by the upcoming film, starring John Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, Louis Gossett Jr., Jon Stewart, Awkwafina, Maya Rudolph, and Steve Carell.
"What if imaginary friends weren’t just these adorable creatures, but rather time capsules for our hopes, dreams, and ambitions?"
826 National and Paramount Pictures are excited to bring you
The Big Book of IFs
The Big Book of IFs
a three book anthology written by young writers from
826LA & 826 Valencia
826CHI, 826michigan, 826 MSP, & 826 New Orleans
826 Boston, 826DC, & 826NYC
The three Big Books of IFs, were imagined into being by young writers across the country. Like many great imaginings, it began with a spark and an invitation. Paramount Pictures, the studio producing the IF, which stands for imaginary friends, knows students are the most creative people around and reached out to 826 to celebrate childhood creativity and imagination alongside the film’s release.
Together, we asked the question, "What would actual students joining us in classrooms and 826 writing centers imagine into a book bout imaginary friends? What would they come up with?
Youth writers across the 826 Network—826 Boston, 826CHI, 826DC, 826LA, 826 MSP, 826michigan, 826NYC, 826 New Orleans, and 826 Valencia—took up the pen and flexed their own creative power to create and share their own imaginary friends on paper. From a pocket-sized creature who turns into a rainbow whenever their human is nervous, to a pigeon whose favorite activity is to nap with their human, young writers shared what makes their imaginary friends so special and illuminate what is most important in a friend.
With a foreword by writer and director John Krasinski, 826's Big Book of IFs is a profound exploration into childhood imagination and creativity and is an invitation to discover a world that only young people can see.
To inspire more young writers and students to imagine and create their own stories, the lessons created by 826 National in collaboration with Paramount Pictures for this project are available on 826 Digital below.
"826 is a beacon of creativity and exploration like no other.
To be asked to be a part of anything to do with this organization is an absolute joy. But to then have 826 invite us to do a full-blown collaboration with them, and to have these brilliant students create such mind-blowing work based on my new film IF?
. . . well, that is nothing short of an honor!"
By Eva, Grade 1, 826 Boston
Sister Sparkle is a very fluffy IF with great hair and an equally great sense of smell. Whenever she gets scared she curls up in a ball and I put her in my pocket. However, this is a special exception for when she is scared. Typically Sister Sparkle lives in my brain.
By Audrey Crutchley, Grade 4, 826NYC
My character's name is Jordan. He always carries a banana around with him, and it’s alive, too. The banana's name is Be Nene. They are the best of friends. Jordan looks like a watermelon but he has these little arms and legs sticking out with three fingers and three toes on each arm and foot. He's covered in green and he's covered in fur. He is very mischievous.
By Cayden Torrington, Grade 5, 826 Boston
I think quite often about having an imaginary friend (aka an IF) since I am an only child. His name is Captain Ball. He is two feet tall and has a blue spiky mullet that is longer than he is tall. Being true to his captain roots, he always wears a blue sailor hat with an anchor and a boat in the same shape and always has a dark pair of aviator sunglasses... Since Captain Ball is shaped like a, ahem, a ball, he is very round and has no neck. He has the hairiest legs and feet that you could ever imagine–even hairier than a gorilla.
By Logan, Grade 5, 826 Boston
My IF’s name is Boracs. He uses he/him/his pronouns. He is a monster, sea-blue, 6 feet 8 inches, and very furry. Despite his appearance, he’s super friendly and nervous/afraid of everything. He has big, kind eyes and a goofy smile. He lives in my closet with my shoes. His favorite activities are playing games (all sorts of games: sports games, video games, board games, etc.) and reading nonfiction books. But he’s afraid of long words, so there are a lot of books he can’t read. His favorite food is pizza mac and cheese.
Discover the world of IF
From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. IF stars Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Steve Carell alongside many more as the wonderfully unique characters that reflect the incredible power of a child’s imagination.
Learn more about the Big Book of IFs
For all media inquiries, including events, reach out to us at information@826national.org.
