Wishes

by Mượn Thị Văn, illustrated by Victo Ngai 

40 pages, 4–8 years; published 2021 by Orchard Books at Scholastic

Such a profound message in only 75 words. Muon shares crucial information by attributing wishes to inanimate objects, and Ngai’s illustratrations add much more content to each spread. This family’s journey across the vast ocean is a scary and lonely time, but the muted color palette makes the scenes intriguing and dreamlike rather than frightening. Wishes is a wonderful, heartfelt story about refugee families and the sacrifices they make in order to better their lives. The art note adds informative historical and personal details as well. Wishes is a must-read that will inspire empathy.