It Took Two Wishes

by Edwina Wyatt, Irena Freitas (Illustrator)

Overview

Count down to party time together with this sweet and whimsical birthday story about one girl and the power of wishes that come true in unexpected ways.

It took twelve moons, four seasons, and countless sleeps... but I waited. For candles and cake and the most perfect birthday.

But what happens when the perfect birthday doesn't turn out the way you planned?

In this heartwarming celebration of birthdays and new (furry) friends, count along as one birthday party in the park becomes so much more — the reunification of lost friends, and the joy that comes with making new ones. Then, just maybe, one birthday wish come true will become two.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593119556
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/27/2021
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.81(w) x 11.31(h) x 0.31(d)
Lexile:	AD340L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Edwina Wyatt is an Australian children's author. She grew up in Sydney and worked as a lawyer and a high school teacher before becoming a writer of books for young readers. Edwina lives in the Victorian High Country with her husband, two children, a dog and two chickens.

Editorial Reviews

2021-06-02
Rain ruins a birthday party but leads to the discovery of new friends (furry and otherwise).

With creative views on the passage of time, a child prepares for a birthday party at the park. It took “twelve moons” to get to the big day, and it took “two hours,” “five smudges,” and “half a sandwich / to write the invitations.” Soggy weather spoils the party plans, but while leaving the park, forlorn and disappointed, the child spots a lost dog. Observant readers will have noticed on a previous spread that another child wanders the park, looking for the pet. The birthday child seeks the dog’s owner—even stopping to query some ducks (cue the giggles)—and eventually succeeds. Both families celebrate the birthday (inside), the protagonist noting that “two wishes came true” that day; readers putting their inferencing skills to work will recognize those wishes as a party, despite the rain, and a pet-human reunion. Everyone in the book is depicted as White; the illustrator uses, in a palette dominated by teal, rose, and yellow watercolors, simple black lines to outline people’s bodies, their skin depicted in the negative white space therein. The inventive ways in which the child measures time frames and activities—baking the cake involves not just eggs, but “two mountains” (i.e., the heaps of flour on the table)—may have readers chiming in with their own examples. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Clever and uplifting. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews