In this brief, rather psychedelic episode, first published in 1963 with pictures by Lorraine Fox, a magician offers a child nine wishes. After wishing for an orange horse with a purple tail, a garden made of candy and the like, the young narrator leaves her ninth wish for someone else to find, and concludes, “Today was a very, very funny day.” The magician turns into a leaf and blows away. Hyman, the author’s grandson, re-illustrates the tale with literal depictions of the wishes, using an orange undercoating to cast a lambent, hazy light over each scene. Unsurprisingly, considering the author, there’s something disquieting about this—but most children will just regard it as an invitation to make wishes of their own. (Picture book. 7-9)
