When You Wish Upon a Star

The latest in this successful series of picture-book-plus-CD packages reunites Over the Rainbow collaborators Judy Collins (who performs three songs on the enclosed CD) and Puybaret for the classic ballad, with lyrics by Harline and music by Washington, which was popularized in Disney’s Pinocchio. A short introductory verse and the song’s lyrics accompany the illustrations, glossy spreads that feature an international group of children—an Eskimo, an Asian child in a bamboo hat, a boy in a turban, and half a dozen others. All of them spot a brilliant star, smiling in the sky; soon after, a woman in a blue cape and fairy wings materializes and leads the children to a country with jaunty toy buildings and candy-cane trees reminiscent of Candyland or Oz. There, the children’s wishes are fulfilled; the bamboo-hatted child gets a unicorn, the boy in the turban flies a child-sized airplane, and, in some quiet political commentary, an Arab boy and a boy wearing a blue yarmulke join hands and fly off together. Puybaret’s polished drafting gives the spreads a compelling combination of splendor and restraint. Ages 4–up. (Oct.)