WISH, CHANGE, FRIEND

A simple homily to the evocative power of words. Little Pig is reasonably content with a settled, bookish life, but in his reading he finds three words (see title) that seem to have special significance. He puts them into a sentence—“I wish for a change and a friend”—that precipitates a journey, at the end of which waits a friendly penguin with two new words: “Pig” and “Together.” Beeke (Book, Book, Book, p. 495, etc.) places small, dot-eyed figures against impressionistic wintry backgrounds, using toned-down colors to reflect the brief tale’s spare, restrained language. By the end, Little Pig and Penguin have created an inviting meeting place where anyone with a wish for a change can get together with a new friend. Few readers will be able resist this gentle invitation to gather, and to arrange, the words that are most important to them. (Picture book. 5-7)