Richie’s Picks: ANYTHING
Richie Partington
Richie’s Picks: ANYTHING by Rebecca Stead and Gracey Zhang, ill., Chronicle, April 2025, 56p., ISBN: 978-1-7972-1515-0
“Why moving is stressful for preschoolers:
Loss of familiarity: Preschoolers see their home as their ‘safe space,’ and moving takes that away, creating a sense of uncertainty.
Disrupted routines: The chaos of moving disrupts their daily schedules for meals, bedtime, and playtime, which can cause stress.
Fear of losing belongings: Young children may not understand that their favorite toys and furniture are being moved with them and may develop a fear of losing them.
Lack of control: Moving is something they have no control over. They are told their home is changing, which can feel overwhelming.
Heightened anxiety: Children can sense their parents' stress, which can amplify their own anxiety.”
– Google AI Overview
“Snow is cold, rain is wet
Chills my soul right to the marrow
I won't be happy 'til I see you alone again
'Til I'm home again and feeling right”
– Carole King, “Home Again” (1971)
“‘Apartments don’t have birthdays,’ I told Daddy. And we just moved in today. So Apartment 3B is zero years old.’
‘That’s why I put zero candles on the cake,’ Daddy said. ‘Plus one for good luck.’
Then he told me to make a wish.
‘What should I wish for,’ I said.
‘Anything,’ Daddy said.
‘Anything?’
I can wish for very hard things.
But Daddy didn’t look scared.
‘How many Anythings can I wish for?’ I asked him.
He scratched his head. ‘Maybe three?’
Having just moved into a new apartment that lacks the familiarity of the old apartment, a girl and her dad are working on getting acclimated. But the young girl is struggling over the loss of the familiar.
“I missed the big blue bathtub and the spicy smell inside the coat closet and the tree outside our kitchen window. I made a secret wish that we never had to move at all.
I kept that wish inside while I brushed my teeth.
I kept that wish inside while Daddy tucked me into bed with Brown Bear and Green Mouse.
And I fell asleep under my rainbow stripe with that wish still inside me.”
ANYTHING by Rebecca Stead explores anxiety in children through the story of a young girl who, with the support of her father, is processing her change of environment. She contemplates a series of “secret” wishes in addition to three spoken wishes that she verbally shares with her dad.
Children who have experienced the disorientation of moving to a new home, and children who have had other stressful changes, will find common cause with the thought process in which the young girl engages as she deals with her change and fears.
Expect that familiarity with this tale will really help some kids take the edge off of a future move to a new home, or mitigate some other equally-stressful disruption in the comforting routines in their young lives.
I found the father’s enthusiasm and support in helping his daughter become more comfortable with their new home to be really terrific. All in all, ANYTHING will make an especially great circle time read for preschoolers up through second graders.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com