Joe's Wish [Hardcover]

James Proimos (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up

What does every grandparent and every grandchild wish for? Joe Capri has a wish. He wants to be young again. But before Joe's wish is granted, he spends a day with his grandson, Michael Francis Capri. He tells Michael about the dancing, singing Something or Other, and they talk about how things will change when Joe's wish comes true. That night Michael Francis Capri makes his own wish--he loves his grandfather and wishes for him to stay just the way he is. Joe Capri makes another wish, too. . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Joe Capri is mighty old. He is creaky and wrinkly. One night he wishes on a star--"a wish that was older than he was." He wished he were young again. The next morning, while shaving, he laments that he is still old. But just as he sits down to eat breakfast, a strange, purple Something or Other appears. It has the most wonderful red hair, 379 teeth, beady eyes, a spiked tail, and some sort of problem with leakage. It dances badly, sings horribly off-key, but tells Joe that his wish will be granted... tomorrow. Boy, is Joe happy about that! His imagination goes wild with the opportunities that restored youth will bring--so he hops on a bus and takes it all the way across town to his grandson Michael's house to share his good fortune. "Grandpapa!" his grandson exclaims happily. "Computer boy!" Joe answers back. He breaks his big news of impending youth, and they laugh themselves silly at the thought that by the very next day they could be in the same class.

They spend all day together, skipping stones and talking about Harpo Marx and Michael's grandmother, who had tall hair and smelled like fresh bread and was even nicer inside than out. That night, after a full and wondrous day, young Michael wishes on a star. He wishes that his grandfather's wish wouldn't come true--that he would stay just the way he was. The funny thing is, Joe wishes the very same thing that night, on that very same star. And as the frantic, leaking Something or Other shouts "Jumping fuzzy lizards!" they both get their wish. James Proimos has succeeded in creating a cartoony, original, certifiably quirky picture book while spinning an affectionate, uplifting story about the good parts of getting old and grandparent-grandchild love. A must for any kid who's wacky on the outside, but soft on the inside. (All ages) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

In this eccentric tale, a grandfather changes his wish for youth in order to appease his grandson. Joe's eyes "saw Babe Ruth play," his face has "over a million wrinkles," and he exclaims "Oy!" when he bends over. Not surprisingly, Joe wishes to be young again, and in keeping with this volume's quirky humor, he meets a stubby-legged, amoeba-bodied "Something or Other" that acts as his fairy godmother and promises to grant his wish the next day. (A cheerfully silly diagram points out the magic purple creature's "bad smell," "spotted spots" and "379 teeth.") However, when Joe gets together with his grandson Michael, he reconsiders. "Michael thought his grandfather was magnificent," the story explains, but also "needed his grandfather to be his grandfather... just the way he was." First-time author Proimos offsets the pathos with a screwball wit. His distorted but charming characters?reminiscent of the Rugrats kids?are drawn with squiggly black lines and strewn with a sputtery confetti of ink scratches. Affection permeates a cartoon portrait of Joe's wife, complete with hand-lettered labels of "nice smile" and "smelled like fresh bread." "You would've loved her to bits," Joe tells his grandson, alluding to her absence. But despite such a successful balance of comedy and poignancy, Proimos treads on tricky terrain when grandfather and grandson "both got their wishes." Joe "no longer wanted to be made young. He just wanted a lot more days with his grandson." Newfound youth could mean additional years of togetherness, yet Joe prefers to keep his creaky knees. The sentiment is moving, but the conclusion seems illogical. Ages 4-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015201831X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152018313
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,274,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful book destined to be a classic!, October 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Joe's Wish (Hardcover)

This book is terrific! The illustrations are fun, silly and very imaginative. I especially love "something or other". They story is very well written, and incredibly touching. This book is a must-have!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real kid-pleaser, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joe's Wish (Hardcover)

I bought this book as an impulse purchase because I liked the way Amazon described it. What a wonderful "accidental" purchase! My 8-year-old reluctant reader adores this book and wants to read it almost nightly. Although it isn't laid out in a traditional book style (some of the content is contained in speech bubbles or in little captions around the illustrations), he doesn't have any trouble following the story and he really likes reading all the little asides, captions, etc. The illustrations are very cute and the story is very sweet. What happens in the story is actually pretty deep, so I was surprised that my son figured it out so quickly and liked it so much. I would highly recommend this for any child age 6-9, or any child who has a very close relationship with his/her grandfather. It's a winner!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful no matter WHAT age you feel you are, February 14, 2003

By 

Timothy Capehart "Review-a-holic" (Dayton, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joe's Wish (Hardcover)

Proimos is the best kept secret in the picture book world. His scribbley, exaggerated cartoon illustrations might bring Callahan to mind in older readers (or Pelswick in younger readers)...but this story is timeless. Joe wishes he were younger, but after a day with his grandson he wants to change his wish--to just have more days with his grandson. Heartwarming and out-of-left-field silly. It doesn't get better than this!