The Trouble with Wishes
Grade 2–4—This light reinvention of the myth of Pygmalion gives the ancient Greek sculptor access to French perfumes, a modern-day spa, and an apprentice named Jane. Pyg is obsessed with his masterpiece, a sculpture of a goddess so beautiful that he wishes she were real. Jane finds her hard, flawless beauty a little off-putting, somehow, but he sees only perfection. Then he gets his wish and his work of art comes to life, but she turns out to be vain, humorless, demanding, and disloyal. As the end of his unhappy day with the "perfect" girl comes to a close, Pyg goes home to find Jane waiting for him with a blazing fire and a game of Scrabble. The pleasing, painterly cartoon illustrations combine ancient and modern elements. This fairy-tale/nursery-rhyme spoof, one of several by Stanley, has its own personality, tone, and palette, all of which work together toward a happy ending for everybody.—Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SCCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.