I have lot of friends in the publishing business. Lots. And I meet a lot of people in that world as well. Years ago, when my children’s book first came out, I was talking to a woman who said she worked for a publisher of textbooks. She told me that her company had a policy of not using the word “imagination” in their textbooks because they feared that books using that word will not be bought in some U.S. school districts.

She explained that the word was too closely associated in some people’s minds with the word magic, which, if you recall the debates about the Harry Potter books back when they were first published, is a literary hot potato for many people.

You could say that I’m fascinated by magic in all its forms—as make-believe performance, as real-life pagan ritual, as literary device. I was a huge magic geek as a kid. I still have the wand and tote bag of tricks that I trot out every time the unsuspecting child of a neighbor has a birthday party. Several of the blogs I follow these days are written by modern-day witches. And one of my long-time pet projects is a series of fantasy novels featuring rich magic systems.

That said, I actually get the objection-to-magic thing, I really do. I don’t like that people feel that way, but I can live with their objection if they can live with mine. But banning your child from ever reading, hearing, or seeing the word IMAGINATION—the Old French origin of the world means “to picture to oneself”—seems crazy to me. I’d argue you need more imagination to ban the word IMAGINATION for all the harm it will do your kid. The most successful adults I know did not grow up in an imagination-free zone.

I wonder if my acquaintance’s employer was the only company to enact such a policy. Since I first heard this anecdote back in 2011, I haven’t been able to confirm what I was told, nor have I ever been able to find a news article from a reputable source confirming this person’s assertion. It’s entirely possible my acquaintance was full of it, but then again, this is not the sort of policy a textbook publisher would voluntarily release to the news media.

Just in case the policy is true, here are couple of copies of the word. Please feel free to copy and paste into your favorite textbook of choice. Give a few to some wonderful kids, and to some boring adults who need it badly while you’re at it.

IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION.

There. Now don’t you feel better?

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