Author & Illustrator: Chris Saunders
Genre: Children's Book, Picture Book
Publisher: words & pictures
Date: March 12, 2019
Length: 32 pages
Review copy from NetGalley
Rabbit has never had a wish before; but one day he gets not just one, but three! Wish is a touching story about the power of kindness and the magic of friendship, with beautiful and emotive illustrations from Chris Saunders.
Once every year wishes take flight, filled with hope and twinkling light. They dance in the air, with a swirl and a swish, you have to be lucky to be chosen by a wish.
Rabbit cannot decide what to wish for, so he asks his friends Mouse, Fox, and Bear what they would do if they had a wish. Being selfless and kind, Rabbit grants all three wishes to his friends. They are so grateful for his kindness and generosity, they share their wishes with him.
Description from NetGaley
My daughter really likes rabbits. And by that I mean she is totally obsessed with them. Her school librarian has pulled out every picture book she can find that has a rabbit in it. So when I saw the magical looking rabbit cover for Wish on NetGalley there was no question that I would request it.
What I liked
Illustrations: Y'all, the illustrations are GORGEOUS. Kid 2 has asked me several times to pull up Wish so she can take her time looking at the pictures and tell her own version of the story. The illustrations are the absolute star of this book. Adorable animals, sweeping vistas, magical fields, and humorous details hidden in Fox's library - it's great. |
| Wish by Christopher Saunders |
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| Wish by Christopher Saunders |
Recognizing that not everyone wants the same thing: I felt the story was a bit clunky (more on that below), but I liked that Rabbit would reflect on his friends' answers and ask, "is this wish for me?". This prompted a nice little discussion between the kids and I. It's important for kids to remember that just because they're friends like something doesn't mean it's something they will want, or must want. (So many tears in the elementary school over this type of thing.) However, this was not the focus of the book.
What I'm on the fence about
It's a rhyming story: I'm not a huge fan of rhyming stories. I feel that many times they aren't done well. Of course there are rhyming stories that I enjoy, rhymes can give a story a rhythm that pull the reader in. But I feel that many times the narrative is forced to conform with the rhyme and the storytelling suffers. Wish started off well but the story faltered half way through because, in my opinion, it had to conform to the rhyme scheme.What didn't work for me
The messaging was heavy-handed: I'm reading this story about a cute rabbit trying to figure out a wish, and suddenly I'm walloped by a Message. While the sentiments were nice, it was a clunky delivery and pulls the reader out of the story. It felt that Saunders was telling a sweet story about wishes and suddenly switched gears to talk about Generosity and Kindness. I capitalized those on purpose as the delivery was not subtle and did not feel organic to the story at all. I can't help but feel that Saunders would have been able to address Rabbit's generosity and his friends' gratefulness in a less disruptive way if he hadn't gone with a rhyming story.
Rating: 2.5
Look, this book is gorgeous and Chris Saunders is definitely an illustrator that I'm going to keep an eye out for. But the plot starts out cute and then jumps right off the cliff into schmaltzy. Would I buy this for an elementary library? Eh, depends on the budget and our needs. My daughter would like me to buy Wish, but she doesn't want me to read it to her again, she wants it strictly for the illustrations.
Have there been any books that you enjoyed before the other started to over explain things in fear the reader wouldn't understand or became too emotional? I remember reading Owlknight by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. The story took an abrupt turn into a long a drawn out discussion on environmental responsibility. I found it tedious and I never finished the book.
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