Step 1
The Bad Idea
Every story starts with Imogene wanting something she should not have — or wanting it for the wrong reason.
About the Author
The person who draws every freckle, every wispy strand, and every spectacularly bad idea.
Author & Illustrator
Don J. Baldwin
Don J. Baldwin writes and illustrates the Imogene Hurley books. He was born in Pontiac, Michigan, grew up in the countryside around Pilot Grove and Marshall, Missouri, and now lives in Seattle. The spunky, incorrigible Imogene is inspired by the antics and memories of his sister Cara, other family members and grade-school friends — especially his first crush in second grade, Miss Georgeanna Scott.
The Imogene Hurley stories began with a simple idea: a small girl who is absolutely certain she is right, and who has to discover — usually the hard way — that being kind matters more than being first. Don writes the kind of books he loved as a kid: funny, a little bit naughty, and honest about how hard it is to admit you were wrong.
Every coloring page, every cartoon frame, and every slide show is drawn by hand in the same warm, bright style, so Imogene looks like Imogene on every single page.
From the desk
How an Imogene Story Gets Made
Four steps, one very wild Imogene.
Step 2
The Plan
She invents a plan with a very official name. The name is always longer than the plan.
Step 3
The Mess
The plan goes sideways. Somebody kind gets hurt. Imogene has to decide who she really is.
Step 4
The Lesson
She fixes it — not perfectly, but honestly. Then she shouts SURPRISE, because she is still Imogene.