Wishes

An arresting, poetic journey and a moving reflection on immigration, family, and home, from an acclaimed creative team.

Wishes tells the powerful, honest story about one Vietnamese family's search for a new home on the other side of the world, and the long-lasting and powerful impact that makes on one of the youngest members of the family. Inspired by actual events in the author's life, this is a narrative that is both timely and timeless. Told through the eyes of a young girl, the story chronicles a family's difficult and powerful journey to pack up what they can carry and to leave their world behind, traveling to a new and unknown place in a crowded boat. With sparse, poetic, and lyrical text from acclaimed author Mượn Thị Văn, thoughtful back matter about the author's connection to the story, and luminous, stunning illustrations from Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Victo Ngai, Wishes tells a powerful and timely story in a gentle and approachable way for young children and their families.

Wishes is a must-have book for every child's bookshelf.

Author: Muon Thi Van
Publisher: Orchard Books
Published: 05/04/2021
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.50h x 11.20w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781338305890
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2021
Booklist 04/01/2021 pg. 68
Shelf Awareness 05/21/2021
Publishers Weekly 05/10/2021
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2021 pg. 99

About the Author
Victo Ngai is a Forbes 30 Under 30 (Art and Style) honoree and Society of Illustrators New York Gold Medalist. She provides illustrations for newspaper and magazines such as the New York Times and the New Yorker; creates storyboards and art for animations with studios like NBC and Dreamworks; and makes books for publishers such as Scholastic, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit Victo at victo-ngai.com.

Mượn Thị Văn loves to read books of all shapes and sizes. She first began reading yellow-spined hardbacks about a certain girl detective before graduating to longer novels and then picture books (it's true, she doesn't remember reading picture books as a young child). So few books reflected her formative experiences, though, that she desired to bring new and different stories into the world.

From her New York Times acclaimed debut, In a Village by the Sea, illustrated by April Chu, Mượn's books have received many distinctions, including a Northern California Book Award, a Golden Kite Award, a New York Public Library Best Book, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and an Irma Black Honor Award.

When she's not writing, Mượn likes to roam the forests of California with her family. Visit her online at www.muonthivan.com.