I Wish I Had. . .

Italian author/illustrator team Giovanna Zoboli and Simona Mulazzani, who have also collaborated on The Big Book of Slumber and Felix, here delivery a dreamy meditation on the animal world, and the many amazing characteristics of specific animals. As the narrator wishes they had this or that - the contentment of a dog when it is snowing outside, the thoughts of the deer who listens in the wood - it becomes clear that what is sought is more than just special skills. It is connection - to the natural world, and to the cosmos itself. This last is evident, as the book closes with the wish for "the huge ears of an elephant to hear what the heavens say..."

Originally published in Italy as Vorrei avere, I Wish I Had... is another of those show more Zoboli titles that seems so simple and sweet upon the surface, but which offers hidden depths of meaning and delight, for the alert reader. In this respect, it reminds me of Zoboli's The Most Mysterious Mouse, which was the single best picture-book I read, back in 2016. I notice that many reviewers seemed to dislike this one, reading the narrative as a simple wish for various animals' abilities. For me though, the wishes expressed spoke more to what those abilities signified, in the larger scheme. Thus the wish for the singing of the whale as it crosses the ocean is not simply a desire for the whale's own voice, but a longing for a means of self guidance through the darkness, a longing for a method of finding one's own kin. Each of the wishes expressed here could thus be interpreted either on the surface level, or on a deeper level. The accompanying artwork from Mulazzani is just breathtakingly beautiful, with gorgeous details - the designs on the whale's body, the apartment building-looking trees that the lemurs are climbing - that add to the richness of each scene. I don't know that this one will strike everyone as it did me. Perhaps I am over-interpreting, but then, reading is in the eye of the reader, not the writer, so I won't apologize. Instead, I'll respond to the book's title by wishing that more of Zoboli's titles had been translated into English! Recommended to picture-book readers who appreciate gorgeous art, and dreamy, more philosophical texts. show less

5 stars. Original review at Kid Lit Reviews kid-lit-reviews.com

I wish I had is a celebration of the best features of some animals as seen through the narrator, who is unnamed. Thankfully, each page does not begin with the phrase “I wish” as that would make reading aloud cumbersome and awkward. The author links two animals together in seemingly random fashion, but the two features of the animals make sense together.

“I wish I had the eyes of a blackbird to see every blade of grass growing in the meadow . . . and the feather-light steps of a tiger as it explores in silence.”

Being able to see everything and then silently explore through that area would be a neat trick, unless you are a mom with three kids and they have that skill. show more The animals include the common mouse and the majestic whale; a sleek panther and a lazy hound; and on the cover, a giant giraffe whose head has pierced the clouds.

The illustrations run from the realistic to the fantastical. In the latter category are the whale and the elephant. What makes them fantastical is the artwork on animal’s skin. Seems the artist could not leave big patches of grey alone, maybe seeing them as a new canvas upon which to draw. Then there is the deer whose antlers are large and magnificent, and so intertwined with the trees that the antlers appear to be the tree limbs. Humor is also evident as in the orange juice-drinking mice—sitting at a small table on a butcher’s block—unaware of an approaching cat, while a third mouse—hiding in a draw of the block—tries to alert his buddies. There are also lemurs swinging from the branches of apartments shaped like trees.

The detail in each spread is wonderful and extends beyond the main animal. Most interesting, to me, is the inside back cover. It is filled with small sketches, some of them the actual art used and others ideas that were abandoned, like the dog sitting in a cozy chair, a pot of steaming tea ready to keep him warm on a snowy day.

I like I Wish I Had . . . for the artwork and for the narrator’s desires to be the best of his/her favorite animals. I love the giraffe on the cover as it reaches towards the heavens, and the elephant with huge ears that can hear those heavens. I think young children will love this picture book. They will think of their favorite animals and what attribute they wish they had. I Wish I Had . . . will arouse the imagination of young children and possibly older as well. Who would not want nimble legs that allow you to run until exhausted, or the ability to take flight with your own wings? I would love to bypass security every time I flew.

I Wish I Had . . . is a whimsical, reflective, celebration children will love. The first person wishes allow a child to be the narrator or the reading parent can take ownership herself. This picture book makes one think of what it would be like to be our favorite animals or what we could be and do if we had one of the amazing animal abilities showcased in the book. I Wish I Had . . . will awaken your child’s imagination and awaken their ability to dream. I Wish I Had . . . is a beautiful book with amazing illustrations stretching from edge to edge. You and your child will enjoy reading and imagining with every flip of the page.

Original review at Kid Lit Reviews.com http://kid-lit-reviews.com show less

I really like the large, colorful illustrations of this picture book - they are so beautiful that they would work well as a picture on the wall of a kid's room. The text is brief and poetic - on each page, the narrator wishes for something that the animal depicted on the respective page can do or has (e.g., "the feather-light steps of a tiger as it explores the silence", "the forest of thoughts of a deer listening in the woods"). This is a translation from Italian, which to me (a European living in the US) made the book more attractive, as it seems like a lot of what's on the market here is originally American - so I welcome the opportunity to bring something different to our mix of picture books. The Early Reviewer copy I received was show more not yet bound, which is understandable in an advance copy but means that I cannot really comment on whether my kid likes the book (he's too young to deal with loose pages). The book seems likeable enough, though. show less

This is a beautiful story about wanting things sometimes that we don’t possess. “I wish I had the towering neck of a giraffe to reach up into the clouds.” Beautifully illustrated and lyrically written this picture book helps children discover the skills that they do and do not possess while seeing the skills that different animals do have. This story was originally written in Italian and translated by Leslie Mathews. The illustrations are very unique paintings that are rich in color and detail. I would recommend this story for children ages 3 and up. A story that will help provide great discussions about children in regards to the skills that we do and do not hold as our own.

Children and their favorite adults will enjoy this gentle story of wishing for animal strengths again and again. The illustrations draw the reader into the animal's world and invite later discussion over what can be seen or heard by each aniaml. What do you see in the woods with the listening deer? How fast is the rabbit? Some of the animals that are shown are given a different look - the whale and elephant have intricate plant and animals designs on their bodies instead of simple black or gray skin. Their ornate look is a delightful discovery. The frequent flower motif stitches the entire book together. This is a quiet time story, a story to read and think about, a story to talk about, and a story to read again and again. Children show more hearing this story again and again will probably begin to see their own abilities, and compare themselves to the different animals. "I can hear like an elepant. I can run like a rabbit. I can help you because I am a person, not an animal." Enjoy this story with your favorite child. show less

As posted on Outside of a Dog:

I am a sucker for giraffes. Give me a book with a giraffe on the cover, and I am a happy camper. And so it was with great joy I received a preview copy of Giovanna Zoboli’s I Wish I Had…, with it’s beautiful illustration (by Simona Mulazzani) of a towering giraffe on the cover. Sadly, a giraffe does not feature on the inside of the book; the end of the title sentence is presented on the back cover. But no mind. The book is full of beautifully illustrated animals, including a tiger, a stalking cat, a wild goose and an owl. Mulazzani’s illustrations are definitely the high point of this quick read. The text is nice, a refrain of “I wish I had…”, such as “I wish I had the nimble legs of a hare show more as it runs until it is out of breath”. Some lines scan very well, but others are a bit awkward in their pace, and the final page ends rather abruptly. I don’t know if this is the responsibility of Zoboli, or the translator (the book was originally printing in Italian). All in all, however, it is a beautiful book to flip through, and a pleasing refrain that would be well suited for bedtime. show less

I wish I had, is a whimsical journey through nature. The oversized pages are reminiscent of gallery art pieces which vary in color tones, shades and perspective. I particularly loved the imagines within an image on the whale and the elephant. Each setting provides an opportunity of the readers to explore language and feelings. The text provides relevant vocabulary for each scene such as "blades of grass", "contentment of a dog" and "happy hunger of a bear". The line “I wish I had the forest of thoughts of deer listening in the wood…” and “the far reaching gaze of an owl, light as a ghost” can be perceived as poetic or confusing for young readers. This book is a translated from a 2010 Italian publication.