What happens when you come across exactly one wish — no more, no less? Lisa, the star of this story, has to grapple with this dilemma when she finds a bright-shining token with just one rule inscribed on its surface: "No wishing for more wishes." She tells her school-bus driver, who encourages her to think hard because "it will need to be a perfectly perfect wish."

Lisa starts polling all her friends about what they would wish for if they were in her shoes. She sympathizes with their desires. Some yearn for the standard fare of childhood, like a puppy or real ballerina pointe shoes. Others' yearnings are more poignant, like Mark's wish that his daddy would come home safely.

Illustrator Jessica Courtney-Tickle portrays ordinary life in gentle grays, except for the wish energy, which is golden. But the wishes of friends appear in full color. Her illustration of Mark's wish shows him at a birthday picnic with his family, blowing out the candles on his cake, above which appear smoke silhouettes of him and his father reunited.

On her school-bus ride home, Lisa reflects on each wish, with a clear-headed understanding of what would and would not work if she were to wish them for herself. But as she realizes that her own wishes seem too small, she envisions a much more encompassing wish that's full of compassion. The joyous full-color series of illustrations of her special wish coming true are sure to lift the hearts of the 4 - 8 year olds for whom this book is meant, and also anyone sharing it with them and having the opportunity to consider what matters in life.