Review: An immediate hit for young readers
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2013
Imagine finding the most perfect penny. Its glittery copper color, pristine imprints of Lincoln and `In God We Trust' showing that the coin was printed in 1949. Then imagine that along with being perfect in every physical way, this penny was also perfect in the way of granting wishes.Daniel Kelley tells the story about Wilson, a 10-year-old boy who finds this magical penny while waiting for his best friend to meet him at the park.  Wilson is a funny-loving kid with a great imagination and loads of energy. He realizes almost immediately that the penny he found can grant him wishes, which bothered me.  The part that bothered me most was that Wilson just knew that the penny was what was granting his wishes almost immediately. Perhaps young boys have the imagination and ability to realize that this penny is the reason that an ice cream sandwich has shown up in his hands, but I still would think that the correlation would have taken more than three paragraphs to identify.I like that Wilson's wishes include both the fun and shallow variety along with a wish that shows him that the grass is not always greener on the other side.  It all works out in the end, and I closed this book still cheering about how Wilson chose to end things.