Zuzu's Wishing Cake

Biographical info: Zuzu's Wishing Cake
Author: Linda Micheline.
Illustrator: D.B. Johnson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Genre: Picture book.

Plot: Zuzu is a happy, go lucky girl who loves to smile at everything from cardboard boxes to her neighbor, a young boy, about her age. Unfortunately, when Zuzu uses her telescope to smile at the boy, he does not return the friendly gesture. Zuzu thinks it is because he does not have a telescope. With that in mind, she constructs a homemade telescope for the boy across the street. Sadly, the boy does not use the telescope, and Zuzu cannot see him smile. She predicts that the sun was too bright and therefore the little boy needs sun glasses. Therefore Zuzu constructs sunglasses out of the negatives from photos. She gives it to the boy's mother to give to him. However, the mother speaks in a foreign tounge to Zuzu, and she does not understand. Not giving up, Zuzu thinks up of something else so the boy can smile. Finally she makes a wishing cake, which is a stack of bread, each spread with jelly, and piled on top of each other. When she gave the sandwich cake to the boy, he smiled and smiled!

Theme: Sometimes it takes a little bit of work to make someone smile. Doing a kind deed for a person/friend is not always easy.

Illustrations: As soon as I saw these pictures, I immediately thought they closely resembled the animations I watch in movies or in cartoons. Zuzu's eyes are squared. Most of the pages have several pictures on it. Some of the book is also in cartoon form. My favorite illustration is of the boy's mother. One cannot quite see her face. She is wearing chapals (sandals) two bold bangles on her arm, and a traditional sari. The outside edges of her sari are embroidered in an orange and white design. On another page, there is a black cat covered in pink polka dots. One can tell that Zuzu loves patterns and designs because the hat she wears has patterns and designs on it.

Reflection: This is a very touching book about making the effort to make a little boy smile. It also teaches the important lesson that making a friend is not always easy. I think the boy was a lot like me when I was little. I was very shy and rarely talked to others. I think the boy did not come outside to talk to Zuzu was because he could not speak any English. I remember when I was in pre-school, I could hardly speak a word of English. All I knew was my native language. It was very difficult for me to communicate when I could not even converse with anyone. In general, this book is a wonderful read to a diverse type of class, or even to a child at home. It teaches children to make the effort to do something nice for others.

Extension Activity: What is something nice you did for someone else? How did it make them feel, and how did it make you feel? Write a few sentences about it, or if you wish, share with a parent or teacher, or class.