Wish in a Tree

By Lynda Mullaly Hunt & Nancy Carpenter

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

In 2015 Lynda wrote  Fish in a Tree,  a middle grade novel about how even if you struggle in school, you can still be quite smart and that intelligence is measured in many different ways. In her debut picture book Wish in a Tree she has taken one of the characters in that novel, Oliver, who is a bright, highly-creative, out-of-the-box thinkers but is held back by shame at being different.

At school while everyone else sits quietly in their chairs, he fidgets while his brain fizzes from one amazing thing to the next. Some kids at school think he is weird or lazy when he is thinking about other things, and say hurtful things.  Depressed he sits in a tree and wishes that he was ‘more like the rest of them’. Then Albert, another student, talks to him and makes him feel better about himself.

This informative book is an excellent way to open a conversation with children about the many forms of neurodivergence. Oliver is a charming and interesting character. The vibrant brightly coloured illustrations incorporate notebook paper and cutouts to create a collage effect which perfectly illustrates Oliver’s wildly varying emotions, his original thoughts and different reactions.

For those looking for resources on this and similar topics StoryLinks in 2020 prepared a reading list called Being Different, a list of novels and picture books for children and young adults about children with special abilities or disabilities, and Reading bookshop also have a wonderful list, Neurodiversity for kids and teens which explain autism, ADHD and other common forms of neurodiversity in a reassuring way.

As people learn more about neurodivergence it is encouraging that so many publishers and writers are creating resources that help children recognize difference in themselves and others, and show behaviours that supports the whole community.

Penguin 2025

Lynda Mullaly Hunt