Anything
by Rebecca Stead; illus. by Gracey Zhang
Primary    Chronicle    48 pp.
4/25    9781797215150    $17.99

In this first picture book written by middle-grade powerhouse Stead (Newbery Medalist for When You Reach Me, rev. 7/09), the unnamed narrator’s father serves up chocolate cake to celebrate their first day in apartment 3B. “But something was wrong.” Daddy says the child can make three wishes, for “Anything.” Grief lies between the lines of restrained text. “I can wish for very hard things,” but those Anything wishes are for things like the biggest slice of pizza in the world, requests the father can approximate. Illustrations done primarily in black ballpoint pen with small patches of gouache color open the book. In Zhang’s subsequent spreads, as the narrator more fully feels and expresses emotions, the colors expand and ultimately fill the entire space. We don’t know why this pair has moved, but heartache is evident in the effort both parties are making and in the tentative expressions on the child’s face while navigating change. A secret wish comes out in a series of heavily inked nighttime spreads when a siren tears through the quiet: “I wish I had one more Anything. Because I want to go home.” Resourceful Daddy provides comfort and creates a new memory, beginning to transform the unfamiliar place into their home. This introspective, sensitive, and stunningly rendered story will encourage families weathering tough transitions and stay with readers for a long time.

From the March/April 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.