From Publishers Weekly
Luminous pastels by Jackson's grandson breathe life into this haunting 1963 tale, the only children's book written by the author of "The Lottery." Hyman sets the stage for the story's mix of fantasy and reality in the opening spreads. A lone leaf falls from high above a rural landscape as a house comes into view. With the opening lines, "Today was a very funny day. The sky was green and the sun was blue and all the trees were flying balloons," the artist turns up the magic, yet makes the text seem somehow logical. On the front stoop of the house sits a girl in a poppy-covered sundress, and a caped wizard offers her nine wishes. Eight wishes spring to life in warmly burnished, full-bleed images. For "a garden of flowers all made of candy," the light streaming through the leaves of a candy cane-striped tree echoes the poppies on the girl's dress; a tropical sunset backlights the mountains through which the girl and her cat float on "a silver ship with sails of red." Yet the duo always seems earthbound. The heroine politely turns down the ninth wish: "Thank you,... but there is really nothing more to wish for." The wizard leaves the last wish in a shimmering scarlet box on a lily pad for someone else, then turns back into a leaf and drifts up into the sky. Jackson's poetic scenes and Hyman's visual imagination provide the real wizardry here. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
reS-Gr 2-In this offbeat tale, a girl is given nine wishes by a magician. A few of her wishes are for fairly typical desires: a snowman, a garden made of candy flowers, and a miniature zoo. However, she also requests some bizarre things-an orange pony with a purple tail and blue eyes; a clown who is acquainted with tricks, games, and songs and has a butterfly on his nose; and a squirrel holding a nut that, when opened, reveals a Christmas tree. When the magician points out that the child has one final wish, she tells him "there is really nothing more to wish for." The last wish is placed on a rock for someone else to find. While the objects the youngster names could conceivably lead readers to speculate about what they might wish for given the opportunity, they simply sound outlandish and silly. Though Hyman has done an adequate job of representing the story in his soft-focus, muted color illustrations, many of the pictures are static-the running pony appears to be suspended above a field of sunflowers. This story was originally published 38 years ago (Crowell-Collier; o.p.). It is unlikely to hold much appeal for today's children.
Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
