The Wishing Ball
PreSchool-Grade 1–Nellie, a stray cat, wishes on a star for a warm home and good food. A crow, wanting to have some fun at her expense, gives her a ball and tells her that it is a magic star that will make her wishes come true. As Nellie wishes on the ball, it rockets away with her chasing after it. It leads her through a river, past a dog, and to a faraway town where she meets a crocodile named Ernst who takes her home, feeds her, and becomes her friend. The text is written in a choppy manner, lacking the flow of a well-developed story. It is, however, enhanced by the vivid watercolor, ink, and cut-paper illustrations that lend warmth to the story. The small details in them will be especially intriguing to young readers.–Rebecca Sheridan, Easttown Library & Information Center, Berwyn, PACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.