Name of Book: I Wish I Had…

Author: Giovanna Zoboli

Illustrator: Simona Mulazzani

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

ISBN: 978-0-8028-5415-5

Audience:(Young Reader) – I definitely agree with the publisher but if being specific I would recommend it for Kindergarten-Third grade.  This book has a lot of sight words and great illustrations that a young readers would enjoy; it’s also a good book for adults too.

Summary:In this story the author describes different characteristics in different animals that she wished she could obtain. These characteristics included things such as: eyes like the blackbird, silence like the tiger, quick heart like mouse, wings like wild goose, tail of a lemur, and most of all wanted ears like elephant to hear the heavens.

Literary Elements at work in this story:Within this book there are an assortment of literary elements at work. The first one that is at work in the story is the setting. The setting is important because where each animal lives is unique to the characteristic that the author wishes she had. Each characteristic is important to the animals and how they live. By understanding this concept we as humans can have a better understanding of how we ought to live.

The second literary element that is important is the theme. The theme of the story is how the author wishes that she possessed the distinctive qualities of each animal. At the end the author realizes that she wants to possess all of these but that having ears to hear heaven is that most important one to her.

The point of view is the last literary element that is at work in this story. It is interesting because you are not sure who the author is, if it is an adult or child. I think that the point of view can change depending on who is reading the story. If a child is reading the story, then they are more likely to see it from their point of view, but if an adult is reading it then they will see it from an adult’s point of view.

How does the perspective on gender/culture/economics/ability make a difference in the story?:The story has no ties to gender, culture, race, or economics. The story does brings forth ability, in that we are all different. In being different, we learn that our individual abilities make us unique.

Theological Conversation:This particular book makes the reader come to understanding that we are unique by the way which God made us. However, the author indicates that the greatest gift of all would be hearing God. With this stated, I believe this book takes a stance on that all creatures here on earth hear God.

Faith Talk Question:

1. Do all creatures “hear” God? – Why do believe or not believe this?
2. Do you wish God would have made you different in some way? Why?
3. How do you think your life would be different if God would have made you this way?
4. Are you listening to God in every aspect of your life? If not, why not? If so, how?
5. What do you think would be the most important ability for you to have? Why?

This review is written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Dan Sullivan

I Wish I Had… by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.