WISH IN A TREE

An uplifting picture book celebrating neurodiversity, starring characters from Lynda Mullaly Hunt's New York Times bestselling middle grade novel Fish in a Tree

Oliver's brain is always bubbling with ideas, endlessly asking questions, and imagining wild adventures. This makes it hard for him to sit still and focus at school. And it makes him feel different from the other kidsespecially when his classmate Shay constantly calls him "weird." Oliver wants to fit in, and he envies the ants he loves to observeas they all have a place in their colony. Then at recess on one particularly hard day he hides in a tree to escape from the others. He wishes hard that he could be like everyone else. His friend Albert finds him, and when he praises Oliver for having such a unique outlook, he helps Oliver see his brain in a new light. According to Albert, if people like Oliver gave up and became like everyone else, we'd be without our visionariesour inventors, artists, and scientists. And as Oliver starts to build his own colony of friends with kids like Albert, he discovers that although his brain might feel scattered sometimes, it's also what makes him an astonishing, thoughtful kid. Lynda Mullaly Hunt is the author of New York Times bestseller Fish in a Tree, as well as One for the Murphys, which is on thirty-one state award lists. She's a former teacher, and holds writers retreats for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, impetuous beagle, and beagle-loathing cat. Illustrator Bio: Nancy Carpenter has illustrated sixty books for children, including Balderdash (by Michelle Markel), a Sibert honor book, and A Letter to My Teacher (by Deborah Hopkinson). She's received two Christopher Awards and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.