WHAT IF YOU WISH?

A child experiences the joy of imagination and the darkness of doubt.

A nameless character with pigtails and bangs, freckles, skin the color of the page, and a tunic top over leggings slips through a broken chain-link fence and makes a wish on a dandelion. The world bursts from black and white into color as the child flies through a dreamscape, but darkness and monsters menace, hues darken and fade to dark gray (“Doubt lingers”), and the protagonist returns to Earth, alone. But a bright little yellow star spreads its glow, colors and a sense of wonder return, and the child sails through a seascape, through the sky, and into outer space. Appert’s art, which looks like watercolor but was digitally created, carries the story entirely; this could easily have been a wordless book, like JonArno Lawrence’s Sidewalk Flowers (2015), illustrated by Sydney Smith, and maybe it should have been. The text is vague and metaphorical, addressing topics such as wishes and worries, dreams and doubts, possibilities and promises—possibly too abstract for younger children to understand, although the art provides a wonderful opportunity for conversations around social-emotional learning topics such as worry, uncertainty, and hope. Appert’s use of color effectively shifts the tone and mood throughout, and young readers may want to share their own stories of wishing on dandelions and stars.

Strong art, muddled writing.