Touching and sweet, I think this book will resonate with young readers and their caregivers. Great reminder for all of us that change is hard but it helps to have someone help you manage big feelings and feel safe. Beautifully detailed artwork.

A little girl and her dad move to a new apartment and the little girl struggles with the change. The dad does a great job caring for his grieving daughter. The book was entertaining enough for my 3yo, but it was mostly over her head about what was really going on. I think it would be sweet for any kids who have experienced similar changes.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Once I saw Rebecca Stead’s name, I couldn’t hit the request button quickly enough!

This one is adorable but bittersweet. A little girl and her father are celebrating their new apartment’s birthday. When her father suggests she wish for “anything” when she blows out the candles, the little girl wishes for “three anythings.” The first is a rainbow, which her father immediately paints on her wall. But the rest are harder, mostly because she wishes they didn’t have to move at all. It’s a picture book, so there’s no backstory on why they had to move, or what might have happened to mom, or how much had to change. The little girl is mature enough to know that what she wants isn’t possible, so she asks for tangible things, like the world’s biggest slice of pizza. Ultimately, her father helps her come to terms with their new living situation (when she asks to “go home,” he carries her on a ride around the new apartment until she falls asleep).

The illustrations are really striking - mostly black and white, but with pops of blue, yellow, red, and green. Another one I’m excited to see in print!

I love the impact of the illustrations, grayscale at the beginning with bright color slowly being introduced. I often see stories that show the sadness and heartbreak of the child moving away, this book is unique in how it shows the adjustment to the new home. I felt sadness along with the child and tenderness towards the Dad. What a special bond they have! Wonderful read, definitely a book to have in the home library.

Love makes tough times easier in this very sweet story of a father and daughter who have just moved to a new apartment. So often, books with a "new home" theme assume that children are moving to a new house—so the urban setting makes this one stand out. Charming illustrations by Gracey Zhang perfectly match the voice of Rebecca Stead's writing.

Beautifully, wonderfully simple. The words are simple, but powerful and full of emotion. The illustrator does a perfect job of illustrating color and drawings placed in the right way to empower the words of this wonderfully simple story.

A very sweet story about a dad/daughter moving into a new apartment. Dad gets the apartment a birthday cake and daughter can make three "anything wishes". The illustrations are cute and dad's desire to make them comfortable in their new apartment despite a little kids anxiety around being in a new place.

Very cute story!

A young girl and her dad move into a new apartment. Her dad gets a cake to celebrate the apartment’s zero years birthday, and the girls is told she can wish for three anythings.
The author does a good job of exploring the sad emotions of moving and missing your old home, and the cozy illustrations pair very well with the story.

A little girl and her father are moving into a new apartment. But there are things she misses about her old place including an awesome big blue tub. Dad is doing his best to settle them in including buying a cake to celebrate the apartment's birthday and tells her she can have a few wishes where she can ask for "anything"-- three of them.

It's sketch-style illustrations makes it feel homey and comfortable just like the relationship between the girl and her dad as they embark on a new adventure together. A wholesome story.

Anything is what the little girl is told she can wish for. Three anythings. The girl and her father have moved to a new apartment and is trying to ease her transition with cake and a candle. Some of her wishes her dad makes happen but the ones she holds inside do not come true.
An interesting read, but it did leave me wondering why that had to move.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this DRC.
#Anything #NetGalley

Change is the theme of "Anything". Children have a hard time adjusting to change, especially when they are young. To ease the transition to their new home, the father made a birthday cake for the little girl to celebrate their first day there. Her father had placed a candle on the cake and told her she could wish for anything. A little girl asked, "How many anythings can I wish for?" Her father said three. She wanted a rainbow in her room as her first wish. Several of her next wishes did not come true, including the height of the slide in the park across from their new apartment. Because she was very hungry, her next wish was for a HUGE piece of pizza. On Thursdays she has to take a bath, so her last wish was that it wasn't Thursday. It was not Thursday, as Daddy announced. The little girl became sad again when it was time to go to sleep because she missed her old house. Then her daddy had another surprise in store for her.

This is a sweet story that explores the effects of moving to a new apartment from a young child's perspective. Rebecca Stead (best known for her middle-grade titles) handled the emotions of this young girl well as the girl was struggling with missing her old home. Readers really get a sense of the emotional connection the girl has with her dad. He encourages her to find things to like about their new home and also validates her hesitation about the move. It's a perfect conversation starter about moving for families or classrooms with young kids, but it could also be a tool for discussing other big life changes in a way that kids can identify with easily.

I appreciated the intentional use of color by illustrator Gracey Zhang and how the pages became more colorful as the story went on to help readers visualize the progression of the daughter's feelings about the move and how she's settling into her new home.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received this e-book from NetGalley and Chronicle Books in exchange for an honest review.

Anything is a whimsically illustrated story about moving from a child's perspective. the creative and colourful drawings were my favourite part of the book, i loved their texture. the ending was a bit too vague and sudden though. it undermined all the build-up and the layers which could've been explored further. i would've liked to see more of this sweet father-daughter duo.

The book was beautifully written. Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

Not quite sure how I feel about this book. I feel like it ended abruptly and like there was more going on under the surface that could have been touched on for children. Whether that is divorce and having to move to a new place with one parent, the loss of one parent, or if it was always a single parent household then something related to the move or starting over. Not sure, maybe that's why they titled its anything?

I didn't dislike the book but I did feel like it was a bit confusing (so I feel like for a child reading it, they would be too). It felt like the point of the book was that home is wherever they are together but it felt like it took an abrupt stop after that as well. It wasn't really explained that that was what the meaning of their "long walk" was.

When a young girl and her father move into Apartment 3B, they celebrate their new beginning with a birthday cake for their home. As the girl gets ready to blow out the candle, her father encourages her to make a wish—anything she desires (a nod to the book’s title). To say more would take away from the charm of this enchanting picture book, which tenderly explores what makes a place truly feel like home. This touching story is sure to resonate with both children and adults alike. The illustrations are darling, the colors bright, and the narrative voice both approachable and clear for the sake of children reading and understanding the story. The ending did feel a bit abrupt, but don't let this take away from looking further of the title appeals.

I’m batting 1000% with author Rebecca Stead: When You Reach Me, Liar and Spy, Bob and The List of Things That Will Not Change rank amongst the best books I’ve ever read. Not best children’s books. Best books.

Now Stead branches out with this picture book, one perfectly illustrated by Gracey Zhang. When a girl and her father move into Apartment 3B, they celebrate with a birthday cake for their new home. What will the daughter wish for on the candle? Dad tells her to wish for anything (ergo, the book title). To tell any more would ruin this wonderful picture book that discusses the true nature of home. Adults will love this book as much as the kids do.

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

"Rainbow is my favorite color" -- I love this. The artwork in this book is incredibly unique! I am def a 'daddy's little girl' so I was obviously in love with this story. It was very very sweet!

Kinda confusing. I think the point of the book was that the dad can make anywhere feel like home but the book abruptly ended. I felt sad while reading it. Pictures were fun.