Bigger Than a Bread Box

Gr 4—6—Rebecca's parents have been struggling to get along. Suddenly, Mom packs up 12-year-old Rebecca and toddler Lew to drive to Atlanta to stay with her mother. Rebecca is furious and misses her friends, school, and, most of all, her dad. In the attic, she discovers a bread box, at the same time missing the gulls in Baltimore and wishing there were some in Atlanta. She looks inside to find that two birds have appeared. She soon figures out that wishes that can fit in the box magically materialize, but those that can't, such as going home or getting her parents back together, are not granted. As often happens with wishes, things go awry; all of the items she has wished for-money, an iPod, a birthday gift for her mother-belonged to someone else and she is accused of stealing. Snyder weaves in her magic without letting it take over and become the focus. Rebecca's choices are not always understandable, but her heartache is. The slightly over-the-top resolution will be both scary and satisfying to readers. This is solid fiction for the elementary crowd. It doesn't rely on one-dimensional bad guys and doesn't let readers think that the good guys are flawless.—Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO