45. Anything

 

45. Anything. Rebecca Stead. Illustrated by Gracey Zhang. 2025. 56 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book]

First sentence: The cake was chocolate. Chocolate is my favorite cake. But something was wrong. "Apartments don't have birthdays," I told Daddy. "And we just moved in today. So apartment 3B is zero years old." "That's why I put zero candles on the cake," Daddy said. "Plus one, for good luck." Then he told me to make a wish.

Premise/plot: A little girl is troubled by a recent move....and her dad spends the entire book reassuring her. That's the most simple plot summary. The book celebrates the love of a father and daughter through a [rough] transitional period. She uses her three wishes for 'anything' to cope with the many changes going on in her life. Her dad is super-calm and understanding, truly going out of his way to show how much he loves and treasures his daughter.

My thoughts: I liked this one. It is Rebecca Stead's first picture book; she usually writes books for middle grade. This is exactly the kind of book that adults love.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers