WISH IN A TREE

Oliver, a neurodivergent child introduced in Hunt’s novel Fish in a Tree (2015), makes his picture-book debut.

Oliver feels like “a dragon in a paper house.” While his classmates work quietly, he fidgets and involuntarily makes noises. His brain “blazes.” He imagines his pencil as a rocket, and his mind fills with questions: Could a pencil rocket reach Saturn’s rings? Shay, the class bully, calls him “weird” and “lazy,” unlike “the rest of us”—but the things Oliver says to himself hurt even more. At recess, Oliver makes a wish: “Please…please make me more like the rest of them.” Fortunately, not everyone is like Shay. Jada’s impressed by Oliver’s knowledge of ants, and Albert reminds him that famous inventors, scientists, and artists persisted despite being mocked: “Just imagine the things we wouldn’t have without all of your astonishing brains!” Cheered, Oliver dubs Jada and Albert his “colony”: “In an ant colony, everyone matters.” Now he’s proud to be a dragon in a paper house: “Isn’t it good to have a little fire inside?” Though the dialogue is somewhat heavy-handed, readers, especially those with learning differences, will appreciate the message that, like a tree with colorful autumn leaves, the world is “most beautiful” when people are all different. Energetic cartoon illustrations cleverly convey Oliver’s vivid imagination as well as his emotions. Most characters, including Oliver, have light skin; Jada is brown-skinned.

Affirming and uplifting.