Allison Rushby (text) and Karen Blair (illustrator), The pet wish (The wish sisters #3), University of Queensland Press, July 2023, 97 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780702265952
Allison Rushby (text) and Karen Blair (illustrator), The running wish (The wish sisters #4), University of Queensland Press, July 2023, 97 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780702265945
The pet wish and The running wish continue The wish sisters series about a cute baby, named Birdie, who has magical powers to make wishes come true, just by wishing them. But she is oblivious to the havoc her wishes can cause especially if the mischievous imp twists them. Responsible, older sister Flick must be ever watchful to stop her baby sister from making wishes or, at least, to smooth over any ensuing chaos from Birdie’s wishes.
Light-hearted fun abounds in both books. The pet wish tells a story about Flick and best friend, Oli, enthusiastically supporting a local event to raise money and find homes for abandoned pets. Baby Birdie’s well-meaning wishes for more fund-raising biscuits to appear and to “fix” the pets’ less attractive features, combined with the imp’s mischievous wish twisting, have absurd consequences which could ruin the day.
The running wish is about school athletics carnival day. Flick and her dad are keen to win their races and support their Green Team. But Flick can’t seem to convince Birdie and the imp not to make any wishes at the carnival. What kind of hilarious trouble will they cause and can Flick stop the Busybodies Committee from noticing?
This series is written by accomplished author, Allison Rushby, whose writing competence shines through in these two new books. The storylines are entertaining and cover everyday adventures around school, community, and family. There is also the added appeal of the magical element as well as plenty of humorous fun too. I also enjoyed the interesting, (mostly) likeable characters as well as the funny, quirky, less agreeable ones.
Blair’s black and white images, between the text, have an enthusiastic energy and further develop the characters with animated expressions.
Being short books, with large print, plenty of dialogue and images that break up the text, The wish sisters series are not only fun and engaging but also terrific for building reading confidence for newly independent readers – about 6-8 years old.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
