REBECCA STEAD BOOKS

Anything by Rebecca Stead
“An unforgettable story about change with a loving father-daughter bond at its heart.”

– Matt de la Peña, Newbery Medal–winning author of Last Stop on Market Street

Anything

Written by Rebeccca Stead and illustrated by Gracey Zhang
Now available for pre-order! On shelves April 29, 2025
Published by Chronicle Books

What’s more powerful than a secret wish? A wish you say out loud.

Anything paints a tender picture of a father and daughter moving into a new home. Dad brings a birthday cake for the new apartment to celebrate their new beginning and tells his daughter she can wish for anything (or, more precisely, “three Anythings”). Over the course of the day, she wishes for some of her favorite things, including a rainbow and “the biggest slice of pizza in the whole world.”

But she keeps some of her wishes inside. Because what she really wants is to go back home to their old apartment, with its big blue bathtub and space in the closet for hide-and-seek. When she finally admits this last wish, her dad takes her on a journey, and by the book’s final pages, she is home . . . in every way that matters.

Pairing an enchanting story from Rebecca Stead (author of the Newbery medal-winning When You Reach Me) with stunning artwork from Caldecott-honor-winning Gracey Zhang, Anything is pure magic. A story that will resonate with every young reader, it is a powerful reminder that sometimes making a wish is a way of telling ourselves we’re ready for something new.

Reviews

★ “A sensitive, beautifully wrought meditation on change.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Newbery Medalist Stead makes her picture-book debut with the tale of a youngster dealing with that most turbulent of childhood upheavals: moving.

A father and child mark the occasion with a birthday cake for their new apartment. Daddy encourages the youngster to blow out the candle. “What should I wish for?” “Anything.” Permitted to wish for three “Anythings,” the protagonist requests “a rainbow in my new room,” a big slice of pizza, and to put off bath time. Daddy obliges, but later, the child is awakened in the night by frightening noises. “I wish I had one more Anything,” the child tells Daddy. “Because I want to go home.” Daddy hoists the little one onto his back: “All aboard the train to home!” After several lengthy trips around the apartment and a good night’s sleep, the child awakens with a newfound appreciation for the family’s abode. Stead traces a believably earned journey from fear and uncertainty to acceptance. Though spare, her first-person narration is steeped in emotion and laced with realistically childlike musings. The text pairs seamlessly with Zhang’s expressive gouache and ballpoint pen artwork. As the two (both with skin the white of the page) settle in, their surroundings gradually go from scenes with just a few items, rendered with soft lines against a stark white background, to highly detailed spreads brimming with warm colors—a compelling visual representation of the child’s trajectory. A sensitive, beautifully wrought meditation on change.

★ “This tender portrait captures a child met where they are by a parent who, with patience and humor, offers all the comfort the child needs—free of judgment or pressure.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“A child grieving a move to a new apartment narrates this musing moment-by-moment story by Newbery Medalist Stead, making her picture book debut. Zhang (Emergency Quarters) works in close, spidery ballpoint lines and splashes of color to capture the child slumped before a chocolate cake that’s meant to celebrate the family’s first night in apartment 3B. “Apartments don’t have birthdays,” the child says. “That’s why I put zero candles on the cake,” the father smoothly replies, “Plus one, for good luck.” He invites the child to make a wish, leading to an agreement of three wishes—three “Anythings.” Alternating with the child’s sensory perceptions, longing remembrances of the family’s previous apartment, and “secret” wishes that can’t be met, the Anythings are granted. A rainbow appears painted on a bedroom wall, dinner includes “the biggest slice of pizza in the whole world,” and Thursday bath night is abandoned. (“I have an important announcement,” Daddy says. “Today is not Thursday.”) That night, awakened by a passing siren, a deeper, fourth Anything emerges: “I want to go home.” In the sequence that follows, this tender portrait captures a child met where they are by a parent who, with patience and humor, offers all the comfort the child needs—free of judgment or pressure. Character skin tones take the white of the page. Ages 3–5. (Apr.)”