I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Borrowing From My Sister's Bookshelf: I Wish You More
What do you see when you see dandelions in your garden? Or come across them in the cracks of sidewalks? Do you see weeds? Or wishes?
Ever since I became a mom, I've seen wishes. Perhaps it's because when my girls were little, we would always take the time to scoop up these white puffballs and try to make a wish. So many of my memories with my little girls are tied up in wishes. Yes, I have them make wishes when one of their eyelashes fall. We blow them away as we wish, even if Mommy has accidentally dropped the eyelash!
And it makes sense: my mom told me that when my twin and I were born, she watched as each eyelash came in daily on each of us. And I remembered her story when I held newborn Mini Me and newborn Little Lion. As I lovingly caressed their soft cheeks in disbelief, I counted each and every eyelash. It comes full circle--if I watched each eyelash come in, when they fall out, something magical must occur. So dandelions and wishes, they make me think of those tiny moments that sealed my love for my daughters even more.
I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (published 2015) expresses exactly that type of unconditional and indescribable love that I feel for my girls. Written in one-lined verses, the words are a love letter for all the hopes a parent might have for their child, made all the more poignant when I imagine Rosenthal's children reading her words.
The illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld are as heartfelt as they are whimsical. The duo made many delightful picture books together. In fact, you likely have a book or two by one or both of them on your bookshelf and may not realize it!
Rating: Bottom bookshelf all the way. Or maybe on your cuddle couch or reading tent. We are in the slow process of partially re-doing (I don't dare say remodeling) our house, and have plans for a fabulous reading nook for the girls. Of course, we already have the curtains purchased. Just waiting on Mr. Bookworm to agree on the swivel chairs I picked out from Room and Board. And waiting for the clutter to magically disappear from our house so we can get our floors done.
Ages: From the start of newborn lashes on up. I can imagine reading this one while nursing and cuddling my babies.
Borrowing From My Sister's Bookshelf is an occasional series in which I borrow and review books from one of my sisters' bookshelves. Kind of like borrowing their clothes like when we were younger, but more fun and they fit better. I Wish You More is on its way to Monkey and Piggie's bookshelf as it is one of the Easter books I chose for them (but I was too sick to visit).
If anything good has come out of the recent death of prolific children's book writer, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, I hope it's the appreciation for her creative spirit and the re-discovery of her wonderfully written books that are full of heart and life lessons without being pedantic. In fact, her daughter is continuing Rosenthal's 123 project over on Instagram: by posting daily pictures to complete that project.
From her first post:
Many of you know that my Mom had an Instagram project called “Project 1,2,3” where she posted a new 1,2,3 list daily at 1:23pm. Her goal was 123 days. She made it to day 61. For the next 62 days, to complete the 123 days, I will take my own variation on this project of hers. Everyday at 1:23pm, I will post a photo that represents something about Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I will acknowledge AKR in some way everyday for the rest of my life, and this is the first step of my journey in doing so.
What a wonderful and heartwarming way to pay tribute to her mom, her mom's fans, and to work through her own grief at losing her mom too soon.
