Independent Reading Level - 4-5
Awards: New York Times Bestseller
Junior Library Guild Selection
American Booksellers Association Best Books of the Year;
Parents Choice Gold Award
Nerdy Book Club Award
SCBWI Crystal Kite Award
Arkansas Charlie May Simon Book Award
Florida Sunshine Book Award
Illinois Bluestem Children's Book Award
Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominee
Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award
Minnesota Maud Hart Lovelace Award
North Carolina Children's Book Award
Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award
Rhode Island Children's Book Award
Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Childrens' Book Award
Virginia Young Readers Award

The book reads a little like a small southern town based Nancy Drew, but I would highly recommend it for any kid in a foster home or displaced situation. Its central theme is managing your feelings, love and hope. ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grades 4-6
New York Times Best Seller

What a very enduring book. Charlie (Charlemagne) comes from a very dysfunctional family. Mother is depressed and can not take care of daughters and father is in jail. Sister lives with a friend while Charlie is sent to live with her Mother's sister and husband. (Bertha and Gus) Charlie has a temper and doesn't get along with most people. One of her classmates, Howard, befriends her. He teaches her to say the word pineapple when she is angered. Charlie likes to *wish* upon different objects and has to have a wish each and every day. She wishes for the same thing over and over.
This is a poignant story of a little girl who learns to love and to be loved. ( )

One of my favorite children's book ever! Wish is best for ages 8-11 and is about Charlie Reese, an 11 year old girl. Charlie has many wishes and dreams, but those come to a halt when she is moved to North Carolina to live with family that she does not know well. A stray dog, Wishbone, and Charlie's neighborhood friend, Howard, become her 2 best friends. This book is about learning life lessons that sometimes just the simple things in life are amazing! ( )