Thank you NetGalley and Bernadette Watts for this ARC of Wish You Were Here!

I am a retired preschool teacher, mother of seven and grandmother to two. I have read A LOT of children's books. I am usually drawn to books when browsing when there are beautiful illustrations, which is the first thing that drew me to this book. Every single page is a work of art. So detailed and breathtaking! Then I realized that this is based on a true story of literary legend Franz Kafka. I had heard this story and love that it was turned into this delightful children's book!

This is the story of a little girl named Saskia who loses her beloved doll. Franz sees her crying in the park and decides to help by sending the girl postcards from her doll who is traveling the world. Again, based on a true story, and such a sweet story!

I love the language in this book - some children's books are too simple and boring. If I'm going to read to my grandchildren, I want the story to interest me, too. This is the perfect mix - it has just enough prose to keep me interested but not too much that small children will get bored. And again, the illustrations are so beautiful, that small children could spend a long time just taking in all the detail - as I have done.

This delightful children's book is bound to be a classic and I can't wait to buy for my collection of children's books once it's in print!

Thank you NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of "Wish You Were Here" by Bernadette Watts, which will be released September 10, 2024. The illustrations in this book are beautiful! This book would be great for older elementary kids, especially those who may be learning about real people and are looking for an illustrated book, especially since this was inspired by an antecdote about Franz Kafka.

This picture book tells a fictional, embellished version of the true story of how Franz Kafka comforted a distraught little girl by sending her postcards from her lost doll, who he had said was traveling the world. The story is really sweet, and it's well-told here, with an old-fashioned art style that suits the story. I read an ebook version of this, but because the illustrations include lots of little details, I would recommend a hard copy version instead.

I enjoyed this book, but the abrupt ending disappointed me. After the little girl accepts a new doll with the explanation that her travels have changed her, the girl wants to see Kafka again, but her mother tells her that they'll never see him again, and that he has gone to another place. I took this as a metaphor for death, although it could also imply that he had moved away. I found this vague, abrupt ending strange, since this story for young children could have ended on a high note without suddenly introducing a new loss.

This is the type of children's book that will last for decades. The illustrations are of course stunning and so soft. I love this part of Kafka's life, and the way it's told here seems just like a fairy tale.

Omg! This book is so pretty! I loved the illustrations and the language. I never read anything from this author but I sure will do it. I got emotional with some of the quotes and the sensibility of Franz comparing Saskia loss with his losses. The way he relates to her.

So beautiful 😍

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.
When first time i saw the book title , this picture book really made me curious ... "Wow, kafka ?" Okay. .. I wanna read it!
Then... After see the cover and illustration.. " Woah, so sweet ... I wanna read it for my son (and my self , of course😆) .

'Kay, story is very touching , about kafka helping crying girl to calm after she losed her doll , he say her doll is travelling around the world and pretend to be her doll who has sent the postcards with another countries background to make sure she's travelling.

I loved the story & illustration , the illustration is so mesmerize .
Haw about my 6 y.o son review ? He said he loved kafka on this book "He', so nice ... I liked him! " . 💓

#WishYouWereHere #NetGalley

Such a sweet and touching story about a little girl losing her doll and kind stranger, Franz Kafka in this case, reassures her that her doll is travelling the world. He gives her postcards from around the world to tell her about her doll's adventures.

Truly an incredible little story with the most stunning art! I feel like this story portrays beautifully the fact how big small things like losing your doll feel like as a child. I never liked dolls as a child but I did lose one of my favorite plushies when I was young and to this day I wonder about her and wish she was here. Even as an adult now it brought me such immense joy to think my little plushie is travelling the world. I hope she is enjoying herself to the fullest.

I really enjoyed this story, the art and the important things it teaches us. I do personally wish it would have been just a bit longer as I did feel the ending came rather abruptly even though it was rather satisfying ending overall.

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books for the ARC!

This is a beautiful story. My 8 year old daughter loves it. The illustrations are beautiful. It’s a beautiful way to help children cope with losing someone or something they love.

An absolutely lovely story that I’ve loved for a few years now after seeing a social media post featuring the story. Bernadette Watts’s new book, Wish You Were Here tells the tale with gorgeous, vividly colored illustrations that are a joy to look at.

The book is charming and heartwarming, its illustrations utterly beautiful, and it’s a wonderful story to share (and one I fully recommend) with new and older readers alike. This deserves a spot on bookshelves - my own children are nearly grown but I’ll be getting a copy of this for our bookshelf anyhow.


Recommended.


Thank you to NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for the DRC

This is a lovely book about a man helping keep a girl distracted when she loses her doll.
I loved the illustrations and the travels her doll goes on.

A sweet story.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was a touching story about a man who sends postcards to a girl who has lost her doll, the illustrations are stunning and the story is written beautifully, it's hard to say too much without spoiling it but I loved the dedication that the man went to

I was sent this e-Arc on Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

For whom is Wish You Were Here: Postcards from Franz Kafka written? Yes, readers will find the illustrations from Bernadette Watts in Wish You Were Here captivating. But the book’s declared target audience consists of preschoolers through second-graders. What do they know of the 20th century novelist and poet who wrote such dark, surreal novels about alienation and fatalism and died prematurely from tuberculosis? Is the novel actually a wink to the parents who’ve read The Metamorphosis, The TrialThe Trial and/or The Castle?

Perhaps I’m overthinking it. Here, Franz Kafka, still healthy, prances about Prague bestowing kindnesses on a little girl bereft over losing her doll. It’s a rather sweet story, regardless of whether it really happened or not. So perhaps I should judge this picture book on that alone. So four stars for me, after all.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and North South Books in exchange for an honest review.

Love the illustrations in this book. I collect postcards when I travel will often send them to friends as reminders of trips or as potential places to one day to visit. It’s a beautiful idea to share stories of a lost doll, but I wish it was a grandpa rather than a stranger at the park who fixates on this little girl and her doll. Then suddenly he’s “gone to another place”? The ending felt sudden and odd. I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book tells a beautiful story about a young girl who loses her doll, an older gentleman spins a story of the doll going on a long trip. Postcards tell the story of the man's life through the eyes of the doll. A replacement doll and the old man correlate to the circle of life. Books like this are hard to come by. A beautifully told story, you don't find writing like this every day.

From a famous anecdote about Franz Kafka the author tells us a beautiful story about a man who came to help with a little girl, Sakia, who lost her favorite doll.

Each double page corresponds to one of the doll's journeys.  A journey told through a postcard ending with: "wish you were here".

A very lovely story, full of poetry and tenderness. Accompanied by magnificent and sweet drawings.
A perfect story for little and less little ones.

People of all ages enjoy beautifully illustrated, appealing children’s books.
The author illustrator of Wish You Were Here, well known as simply Bernadette, has created an engaging story about a little girl and her beloved doll Christiana.
Upon a second meeting with Franz Kafka in the park, she sadly tells him her doll is lost. Kafka then begins to tell her stories of Christiana’s adventures.
The masterpiece of Bernadette’s watercolors are simply lovely, detailed, and the storyline is clear and wonderfully worded.
After one reading, you will want to reread, with some poignancy, for the first experience of taking in its mastery.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a heartwarming story and it has such beautiful art.

I cried with this children story. Yep, really emotional!!
The illustrations were very good but the main reason why I loved it so much was definitly the plot.
Cute and emotional!

Such a cute little story! My son enjoyed this one and hopefully will be of help whenever he looses a favorite toy.

Such beautiful artwork, and such a sweet story. A little girl loses her doll and a kind stranger wants to ease her pain, so he gives writes postcards from the doll to the girl telling her about her world travels. The little girl still misses the doll, and the gentleman buys a doll to give her, telling her that the doll looks different because she is older and has been traveling a lot. This is based on a Kafka story and shows some of his deep feelings. While people think of Kafka as someone who wrote such odd stories, he clearly felt empathy for other people. Thanks so much to NetGalley for letting me read this