A Wish is a Seed

Submitted by TBoudreau on
Author
Jessica Young
Illustrated by
Maria Cristina Pritelli
Mankato, MN: Creative Editions (Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), 2020
32 pp., hardcover, $26.99
Grades
Grades 1-3
Ages
Ages 6-8
Review by
Tamara Opar
Excerpt

It travels on tiny wings –

dancing along rooftops

and dodging raindrops.

Until –

it tumbles.

Then it lies,

still

and unseen.

Waiting…

Children’s wishes are magical. A young child will firmly close his eyes to help make his wish come true while blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. Every new wish holds a tiny secret that may not be realized if spoken aloud. With the use of poetic language, A Wish is a Seed follows the journey of a wish through an understated landscape, carried by the wind over water, through canyons, onto busy streets and rooftops, skirting raindrops until it quietly takes root where it’s intended to grow and bloom to fulfill a child’s heart’s desire. The lovely, reflective verse ponders dreams and promises, imagining how a wish comes to be true.

The text, itself, also plays a role in the story, carried by the wind; it floats across the page sometimes curved, upside-down and sideways. The illustrations reflect the pensive mood of the story with dark blues and greens accented with an orange light, the backgrounds eventually becoming lighter as the wish is nurtured.

Recommended
Reviewer

Tamara Opar is Youth Services Head Librarian of Children’s and Teen Services at the Millennium Branch of Winnipeg (Manitoba) Public Library.

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