ANYTHING

Newbery Medalist Stead makes her picture-book debut with the tale of a youngster dealing with that most turbulent of childhood upheavals: moving.

A father and child mark the occasion with a birthday cake for their new apartment. Daddy encourages the youngster to blow out the candle. “What should I wish for?” “Anything.” Permitted to wish for three “Anythings,” the protagonist requests “a rainbow in my new room,” a big slice of pizza, and to put off bath time. Daddy obliges, but later, the child is awakened in the night by frightening noises. “I wish I had one more Anything,” the child tells Daddy. “Because I want to go home.” Daddy hoists the little one onto his back: “All aboard the train to home!” After several lengthy trips around the apartment and a good night’s sleep, the child awakens with a newfound appreciation for the family's abode. Stead traces a believably earned journey from fear and uncertainty to acceptance. Though spare, her first-person narration is steeped in emotion and laced with realistically childlike musings. The text pairs seamlessly with Zhang’s expressive gouache and ballpoint pen artwork. As the two (both with skin the white of the page) settle in, their surroundings gradually go from scenes with just a few items, rendered with soft lines against a stark white background, to highly detailed spreads brimming with warm colors—a compelling visual representation of the child’s trajectory.

A sensitive, beautifully wrought meditation on change.