Katerina’s Wish by Jeannie Mobley

I am reading Jeannie Mobley’s KATERINA’S WISH to my boys, who are six and eight.

The back of the book reads:

What would I wish for, if I had a wish? I took a deep breath to quell the pang of homesickness in my heart, and I spoke.

“I wish for a farm where my family can be happy and live well – the farm my papa wants. I wish for a farm here in America.”

When Katerina sees a fish that reminds her of the carp that granted wishes in an old folktale, my boys shared their wishes, too:

To have all the Rice Krispies in the world;

To have a private limo to and from school;

To make all the days of the week Saturday;

To be able to count all the stars in the sky;

I love so much about this book – the voice, the pacing, the gentle humor. I also love that it’s teaching my boys about something they have probably never considered before: What would it be like to leave your home in 1900 because you dream of a better life in a new land? But maybe best of all, my boys and I dared to dream – to make wishes – thanks to Trina’s story. Isn’t that quite possibly the best gift a book could give?