Sonderbooks

Sonderbooks Book Review of

I Wish You More

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld


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I Wish You More

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Review posted August 24, 2016.
Chronicle Books, 2015. 36 pages.
Starred Review

Aw, shucks. This is one of those sweet books to tell someone how much you love them – but it’s written with creativity and a light touch that keeps it from being saccharine. This one will work so well to read to a beloved toddler sitting cozily on your lap.

The book begins:

I wish you more ups than downs.

[Two kids are happily running with a kite high in the air.]

I wish you more give than take.

[A boy is sharing an orange with a girl. They’re sitting on a big rock, with a soccer ball at its base.]

I wish you more tippy-toes than deep.

[We see a pool with a boy’s head poking out of the water – just at the level of his wide grin.]

I like some of the more fanciful ones:

I wish you more pause than fast-forward.

I wish you more umbrella than rain.
I wish you more bubbles than bath.

That’s it. That’s the book. There are more lines than what I’ve quoted, and the pictures add tremendous charm, but that gives you the idea.

And it’s beautiful.

Of course the finish brings it home to one you love:

I wish all of this for you,

because you are everything
I could wish for . . .

and more.