It's a pretty important day for Carmela, as birthdays are for most small children. Because she is now old enough, Carmela is allowed to go with her brother as he runs his errands for the day! They venture out together; Carmela is proud and happy, her brother does not feel the same way. Still, she perseveres and follows him through their neighborhood.
Seeing a single dandelion growing up through a crack in the sidewalk Carmela picks it up and prepares to blow its showy seeds into the world. Her brother is quick to make her feel silly.
"Did you even make a wish?
You're supposed to make a wish. Everyone knows that."
"Of course I made a wish," she told him.
But it was a lie. Carmela didn't know."
Because she doesn't know what her wish should be, Carmela keeps careful hold of the dandelion as they work to complete their route. Her imagination works overtime with wishes for herself and others. One is personal, one is humorous, others are poignant:
"... imagining her mom sleeping in one of those fancy hotel beds
she spent all day making for fancy guests.
... imagining her dad getting his papers fixed
so he could finally come home."
The flower is even more important when she internally voices those wishes - until she falls, and the dandelion lies crumpled on the sidewalk. With love and compassion, her brother comes to her rescue. Only then do they head home again.
As they did so beautifully in Last Stop on Market Street (G. P. Putnam's, 2015), these exceptional artists create another perfect story to cherish and share. Matt De La Pena's sensitive and meaningful words are accompanied by Christian Robinson's superbly constructed scenes of Carmela's community 'using acrylic paint, collage, and a bit of digital manipulation'. The result is increible!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vIPY-NKDSI
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