Nervous about starting at a new school, Stevie quickly adjusts, in large part due to his wonderful teacher. Miss Perry has a different “fondest wish” each day, whether it’s that everyone will quiet down so she can read the next chapter of James and the Giant Peach, or that they’ll all join her in a march to the office to sing “Happy Birthday” to the principal. One day Miss Perry isn’t at school when the Stevie arrives. The principal spends the morning with the class while other teachers keep stopping by, obviously upset. After lunch, the children return to find their parents waiting in the classroom. That’s when they are told that Miss Perry was killed in a car accident on the way to school that morning. In the aftermath of the news, as the children try to make sense of what it means and how they feel, the principal and school counselor encourage them to share their memories of Miss Perry, and ask what her fondest wish for them would be. Pat Brisson’s remarkable, sensitive picture book is something to consider for any child who has experienced loss. (Ages 5–8)