The Candy Dish

A sweet, magical tale with a tender life lesson.

Yamada (What Do You Do with an Idea?) returns with a simple fable about gratitude and greed. A tan-skinned girl finds a curious gift as she sits in bed in her pajamas one morning: "a simple, oval dish with a welcoming little handle." In mixed-media illustrations animated by swirly lines, Lirius (The Fort) shows the dish perched in a tree outside the child's window. The girl is starry-eyed with excitement, and the single piece of candy inside the dish is the most wonderful she's ever tasted. She wants more, but the dish's cover suddenly sticks tight. Instead of being grateful for the gift, she's desperate to open it again. As the cycle continues--one piece of candy is dispensed every morning before the lid freezes--the girl rages and laments. Slowly, she learns to savor both each wonderful day and each single candy. That wisdom will come faster to readers, who will quickly grasp the story's purport: "Each day is a gift... with a bit of magic." A familiar lesson illuminated by an innovative scenario. Ages 4-7. (Nov.)