The Wish Sisters: The Running Wish by Allison Rushby

Title: The Wish Sisters: The Running Wish

Author: Allison Rushby

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: UQP Books

Published: 4^th July 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 108

Price: $12.99

Synopsis: It’s school sports day and Flick is ready to run! So is Dad. He’s been training for the parent–teacher race. But excitement like this puts baby Birdie in a wishing mood. Soon Flick’s nerves are jittery – and not just because of the competition.

How can she make sure her team wins fair and square when Birdie starts meddling with the most important race of the day?

~*~

Flick and Birdie are known as the Wish sisters. Ever since Granny Aggie asked the imp to give her grandbabies unlimited wishes, the wishes have existed. But only Birdie can make wishes, because the imp likes to twist things for its own amusement. Flick, who is much older – at least ten – is unable to make wishes. The imp finds it amusing that he has only let Birdie make wishes as a grandbaby – but all of Birdie’s wishes are over the top, or ones that are quite noticeable. And with the head of the Busybodies – a group of older neighbours that encourages activity for all ages – Mrs Mortlake always trying to find out what is going on at Flick’s house. But Flick has bigger worries than that – it’s Sports Day at school (she’s on the Green Team) and Birdie is coming. Between jittery nerves because it feels like her team might be falling apart, and worrying about what Birdie will wish for and how the imp will twist it. With her family dressed in their best green clothes for the day, Flick hopes the Green Team can win fairly – especially if Birdie’s wish makes things unfair.

I was sent the third and fourth Wish Sisters books recently from UQP for review. They’re part of a series but the wonderful thing is there is a short precis at the start that gives you a run down of what the series is about so you don’t need to have read the first two before venturing into three and four, though now I am quite keen to so I can see what has happened before. These junior fiction to middle grade books are fun for all readers whether you have siblings or not, and regardless of age, because the language is accessible. It doesn’t talk down to readers and it’s not condescending either – it gets a great balance of what kids know and words they can learn or a chance to build their reading skills, and I always like this in books. I also liked the sibling relationship and its ups and downs. It came across as genuine, because there were times the sisters got along, times Flick was a little bit annoyed with Birdie, and times she wanted to protect her – just like regular siblings. It was more evident though due to the large age gap between the sisters. I think this is often the case as the older sibling in stories like this will be the one who is telling the story.

I also liked the balance of text and the illustrations, a perfect step up from books with more illustrations and less text, as it slowly eases readers into books with more text, rather than throwing them in the deep end with text only books. Books like this will have something for everyone, and the series will appeal to lots of readers of all ages. When I read this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it – it would have been a series I would have picked up as a kid – and even as an adult, I enjoy reading these books, as sometimes there are books that are for everyone, even if they have a target audience. These are the books that have something in it for everyone, the ones that can be read and appreciated on several levels. And the Wish Sisters is one of those series.