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The Wish Tree, written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Chris Turnham, is the story of Charles and Boggan, two friends searching for the wish tree on a snowy day.

What I liked:

• To be perfectly honest, I assumed Charles was a girl when I first saw the book cover. I purchased the book without ever reading a synopsis and I just assumed it was a story about a little girl. I’m still a bit disappointed it wasn’t, as I think it’s important for girls to be taught they can have outdoor adventures, whereas the premise of this book seems to reinforce the pro-gender-binary notion, “playing outdoors is for boys.” At the same time, the fact I did mistake Charles for a girl also strikes me as a good sign because it suggests boys can have a variety of appearances, which is not really something I saw in USian children’s books as a kid. I’m not sure if this visual ambiguity is deliberate on Turnham’s part – maybe I’m the only reader who thought Charles was a girl? – but I do think the fact of it might mean this book is a good choice for parents whose children choose their own gender identity. Also, it only occurred to me now (I definitely still have work to do in terms of understanding different forms of gender identity) – who says “Charles” needs to be a boy’s name? Why not just a name?
• The scene where Charles and Boggan join the animals in a forest feast is so joyful and heartwarming! For some reason, I loved feast scenes as a kid, and I still do. I also kept thinking of the Johnny Depp* version of Alice in Wonderland while I was reading – maybe because of the Mad Hatter tea party scene? Anyway, it was an odd mental contrast.
• Maclear’s writing is spare and graceful. I haven’t read any of her other books (yet), but I’d be interested in finding out if this style is characteristic of her novel-length work.

What I learned:

• I chose this book because I wanted to read something by a Japanese Canadian author before the new year, but in the end, I’m not sure Maclear’s writing was the major draw. Funnily, I wanted The Fog instead because the illustrator is also Asian and I wasn’t sure of Turnham’s racial/ethnic background, but The Wish Tree was what was on sale at Powell’s that day, so here I am. I wouldn’t say I find Turnham’s art especially to my taste, but I do feel it was appropriate to the story. His compositions are admirable – he’s quite skillful at utilizing trees and snowy mounds to evoke the sights and sounds of a winter forest – and I wonder if he specializes in landscape art.

Questions I had:

• How did this book come about? My assumption would be Maclear pitched the idea to her agent and the editorial team located an illustrator, but it could be Maclear and Turnham are friends or something. I did a very quick search to try to determine Turnham’s race (no mention on his website or Twitter, and no selfies, but I’m pretty sure he’s white) and noticed he is located in LA, which made me wonder about the book’s conception. As far as I know, Maclear is currently located in Canada.
• Who is the intended audience of this book? Along with my initial assumption about Charles being a girl, I also half-wondered if he was a white illustrator’s attempt to draw an Asian kid. Judging by the blond sister, Charles is white. I did try to reimagine the characters as Asian for fun, but I have a hard time buying into the idea of parents letting their child dye her hair at such a young age. Still, it’s fun to think of a westernized Asian family having these adventures.
• If Maclear did in fact pitch the initial concept, did she make any attempt to choose a POC/Asian illustrator? I also wonder if her agent and/or editorial team requested revisions to make the story more white-friendly. When I first saw the cover illustration, with the paper dangling from the branch, I briefly thought of 七夕, though the winter setting would be all wrong.
• What was the purpose of including Charles’s repetitive humming in the text? I couldn’t figure out if I was supposed to recognize the tune. I feel these types of lines could be stumbling blocks for parents trying to read aloud to their kids, but on the flip side, it could be a fun readalong for kids who haven’t quite learned their words yet.

Follow-up:

• In light of the sparsity of text, I wouldn’t consider The Wish Tree a great example of Maclear’s writing, so I’m looking forward to reading one of her novels next!

*This is not an endorsement of Johnny Depp. Although I would agree he is a talented actor, I think we all know by now that a good actor does not a good human make.