The Three Wishes by Anthony Browne

A new book from Anthony Browne - hooray! On the cover we have three chimp children sitting on a lounge and the light seems to give the scene a glow reminiscent of the light from a television. And yes as we read on the children are sitting on their lounge watching TV. Is it significant that there are three of them? The scene also looks like a stage play with the large curtains you can see on the sides. Turn to the end papers which are filled with (as you might expect from Anthony Browne) bananas. On the back cover we see the TV and the rest of those red curtains. 

And as you turn more pages you will find them filled with so many of his trademark illustrations including the television on the title page which I think I've seen previously in Piggy Book. I need to check this. Later you will see wall paper which reminded me of Bear Hunt. And of course you will recognise Anthony Browne's icon lounge chairs and bananas. 

Our three siblings are named Lambert, Hilda and Ros. I just knew young Ros would be the hero of the story but I did not anticipate quite how this would work out. As the youngsters watch the TV a blue fairy steps out of the screen. She grants them three wishes and then she disappears.

Be careful what you wish for ...

Look a little more closely at the cover. The 'i' of wishes is a banana skin and young Ros is wearing a sweater patterned with bananas. 

My favourite part of this book is not the outcome of the wishes or the solution to their enormous problem but the quiet wisdom of Ros (I told you she was a hero) when she makes this suggestion early in the story when the Lambert wants to change the TV channel but Hilda says no.

"Well' said Ros, 'we could turn the TV off and do something else. Maybe we could go outside?"

It is interesting that the fairy in this book is blue - it reminded me of The Blue Fairy Book of 1889 which I now discover does contain the story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp which is of course a quintessential wishes story. 

Here are a few questions you could use when you discuss this book with a group of children:

There are three children and three wishes - did you expect them to share the wishes? Why or why not?

From the early pages of the book where we meet Lambert, Hilda and Ros what do you think about their personalities? Which of these three would you like to be your friend and why?

Lambert didn't actually use the words "I wish" - do you think it is unfair - Lambert says "I didn't know that would count as a wish ... That's not fair."  

Hilda has a very strong reaction to the disaster. She calls Lambert a fool - is this helpful? Why do you think she reacted this way? 

How do you feel about Ros's decision to help Lambert?

Is their floor rug a magic carpet? Why is this significant?

My own favourite Anthony Brown books are the Willy books, Bear Hunt, Through the Magic Mirror, Knock knock who's there, Piggybook, The Tunnel and Kirsty Knows Best. 

Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds The Tunnel by Anthony Browne

"At the other end she found herself in a quiet wood. There was no sign of her brother. But the wood soon turned into a dark forest. She thought about wolves and giants and witches."

Rose and Jack are very different. Jack plays sport with this friends while Rose is a book reader. Jack sees the world in "black and white". Rose uses her imagination. This is lucky because when Jack enters a long tunnel and doesn't come back Rose goes into the tunnel and she discovers a strange world. When Rose sees her brother has been turned to stone her knowledge of fairy tales that tells her what to do.

I love all the small details in this book. The end papers show a brick wall (the rigid unimaginative thinking of Jack) and a fanciful patter (the creative and imaginative thinking of Rose). Looking closely at Rose's bedroom you will see a gingerbread house light, a print of Red Riding Hood in the style of Arthur Rackham, pretty wall paper (referencing another Anthony Browne book - Knock Knock who's there) and her coat which looks just like the one worn by Red Riding Hood. And Jack is wearing a wolf mask.

Thinking about the CBCA 2021 slogan Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds I have talked previously about the idea of portals to another world. Yesterday I talked about The Mirrorstone which is a old book now out of print but luckily even though The Tunnel is also an older book (1989) it is still available. The Mirrorstone is for an older group of students in Grades 3-6 but my focus book today, The Tunnel, can be read across a wide range of ages. Here are a set of teaching ideas. 

The girl’s fear of losing her brother overwhelms her fear of entering a tunnel, which she correctly deduces may take them to a parallel world where physics works in unexpected ways. Anthony Browne makes sure to show the reader an open page of her book. This story therefore has the double function of promoting literature — if you read, you’ll be well-equipped to handle whatever life throws at you. Slap Harry Larry

When I thought about linking The Tunnel with the 2021 CBCA slogan I also thought of another Anthony Browne book where the character goes into another world. If you can find Through the Mirror it would also be a good one to share as a part of your Book Week discussions.