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PICTURE BOOKS
Zurbo, Matt

If I Could...

32 pp. | Roaring Brook | June, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9781250777249 $18.99
(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. An adult warmly shares wishes for a child. Along with the straightforwardly positive (“If I could, I’d write a thousand songs for you to sing”), these wishes include more challenging imagined gifts to prepare the child for life (“I’d give you every tear I ever cried so you can learn from my mistakes”), making for a more complex than usual take on the subgenre of picture books expressing hopes for young loved ones. Engaging and varied mixed-media illustrations depict diverse, loving families.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

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