book pick: Wait and See

by Melissa

i am currently sitting in the children's section of our local library as my girls pile up book after book on the table in front of me -- lots of Barbie, Thomas, Marley and Fancy Nancy so far, along with Sciezka's Trucktown. so it seemed appropriate to, belatedly, share one of Sweet One's and my favorite new library discoveries: Wait and See, by Robert Munsch (he of Love You Forever fame).

it's Olivia's birthday and she makes a wish -- a BIG wish -- which instantly comes true, setting off a cascading series of events involving multiple birthday cakes and candles, wishes, wooshes, and bigger and bigger payoffs (though not for everyone's benefit). parents will appreciate some of the humor tucked in here ("I don't think you understand how this works..."), while children will appreciate the magic of pure adolescent triumph. Michael Martchenko's illustrative interpretations add to the book, as humorous as Munsch's words (those neighbors put up with a lot, you can tell).

like many of our most recent book picks, this story started as a storytelling adventure, until Munsch finally settled on this published version. it certainly is a story that reflects that origin, and you imagine the kind of fun he had creating it with each new group of little listeners.

if wishes were horses, my daughters certainly would wish for ponies right now (Olivia does not). me? i'd wish for Olivia's next-to-last wish, the one involving a dump truck (no spoiler here), for the flexibility it'd provide to fulfill so many other petty yet delightful wishes (like the luxury of never doing dishes again). what about you?