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The Wishing Tree (2) : Your wish is only said to come true if you grant the wish of someone else; when you write your wish, you must also take one off of the tree and do your best to grant it. What wish do you pull off, and how do you intend to 'grant' it? Do you work with someone else to grant this wish, or do you work alone? You may get approval from another player to use the wish their character hung up, but no names are attached so your character may not ever know who wrote it!
It was early morning, sun shining through the two sets of charms from Star Fest, throwing red and pink lights across her room. Yasmeen made a mental note to herself that if she found another booth on the way to the library with her mother, she should definitely pick up a green one for Khaz, who largely hadn't gone to Star Fest this year. It was sad, knowing he didn't want to go make wishes anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't have his own private wishes or joys or desires that could use a little extra help in fulfillment. Plus, he missed out on all the things other than those pertaining to the Wishing Tree.
Picking up a lightly used notebook and a stack of pencils off her desk, she put them in her backpack and zipped it up before hurrying downstairs and snagging her shoes. She put them on and hurried after her mother, who was waiting for her patiently on the front porch.
"Ready to go and grant a wish?" Thuraya asked with a smile.
Yasmeen grinned. "Yes! Notebook, pencils, backpack to carry them, comfy shoes to stand in!"
"You sound ready," Thuraya said as she locked up the house behind them and they set off down the street. The library they were going to was on the other side of the park, and Thuraya was working there for a few hours this morning.
"I know we talked about breaking down the list by age range, but is there anything else you might want to consider?" Thuraya asked.
Yasmeen considered this question. Knowing her mother, she might be asking for one of a couple different reasons. Either there were other elements to consider, aside from age or reading level, or she was simply curious. "Ummm...hmmm...you mean...like...how some people like horses, some people like Star Wars, some people like comic books, and some people like horror?" she hazarded.
Thuraya nodded. "Yes! What one person likes might be what another person dislikes. School reading lists tend to be what the teachers think of as good literature, but that doesn't always make it a fun read, and the point of the summer reading program is to make reading feel fun for everyone."
Yasmeen was quiet for the rest of the walk, thinking through this, feeling like her fun little project had just ballooned into something much bigger. A reading list for all school ages, that encompassed a wide range of interests. This...was starting to feel more complicated and involved than it had looked at the outset. Some of these interests were genres that Yasmeen herself didn't like, or simply had no particular interest in, so how did one write suggestions for tastes divergent from their own?
As daunting as this felt, Yasmeen knew why her mother was giving her ideas for how to push the idea. If we can fulfill the wish better than the person thought, maybe our buried wishes can get fulfilled, too. And a recommendation list this ambitious surely had to contribute to her buried wish, right?
While she was lost in thought, they arrived, Thuraya made her way behind the desk to get clocked in for her shift, and Yasmeen was left to wander in a daze towards the children's section, which had been her intended starting point. What did she even choose to suggest?
As her eyes rose to a poster for the summer reading program, she spotted another problem. Page count. Little kids would have to read a lot more books to get the prizes older kids could easily get with a few well-chosen books. What did she do?
Scanning the shelves of the picture books for younger readers, she spotted a series she had loved a couple years ago, when she had been newer to reading, and smiled. It was a big series, and very cute. Looking at the other shelves, she saw other old favorites. Some kids probably wanted to stay in their comfort zone with the reading list, so might read easier things very quickly, and others might need something interesting to challenge them.
Ideas began to whirl in Yasmeen's hand, and she tugged her backpack around to retrieve a pencil and the notebook. Opening it to a fresh page, she started scribbling down the names of series that kids could enjoy up to 3rd or 4th grade. Old favorites, easy reads. Skipping down a few lines, she started up a section for the kids transitioning into chapter books. Choose Your Own Adventure books were good for that, so were shorter chapter books in various genres, which would help up through 5th or 6th grade.
Onto a fresh page.
Everything after the transition to chapter books was going to be harder, but the librarians sometimes posted little recommendation cards on the shelves for series they thought people might like a lot, so Yasmeen started by scanning those for ideas. Books for horse lovers. Books for science fiction fans. Books for avid fantasy readers. Books for horror aficionados (though that was admittedly mostly Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft, since those seemed popular, and the Lovecraft books were surprisingly short, especially next to the Stephen King; the Stephen King books looked chunky even when not sat next to Lovecraft, but Lovecraft next to Stephen King looked almost like books for kids transitioning into chapter books placed there by mistake). She ran aground again when it came to people who liked comics and manga.
Stretching her hand, which was beginning to cramp, she went to check what time it was and what her progress was. Five full pages of recommendations, broken up by approximate reading level and interests. Old favorites and books she might have to try herself in the future. Two hours had passed, and Yasmeen didn't know what to do for the people who liked comics and manga.
She started wandering toward that section of the library, hoping it would give her ideas. Looking around, she spotted some books set a little apart from the other manga, but with manga-esque covers. The label on the shelf read "LIGHT NOVELS." Light novels? What were those? Curious, Yasmeen picked one up and riffled through. Maybe a couple illustrations in the mix, but these were otherwise chapter books by East Asian authors translated into English, mostly fantasy and science fiction, sometimes historical or horror, and the blurbs on the back covers made them sound like they carried a lot of the same sorts of stories as one might find in anime.
Yasmeen grinned. Perfect. Probably include the ones she'd heard of, and she did see a few whose titles she recognized, and any others that looked good.
Finishing up the list, Yasmeen put her pencil away, and went to find her mother, who should be going on break soon. Glancing at the clock behind the counter, it looked like her mother should be leaving for break now. Yasmeen walked faster, seeing her mother arriving at one of the computers to clock out.
Thuraya looked up in time to see Yasmeen hurrying toward her and smiled. "How goes the recommendation list?"
Yasmeen grinned. "I'm ready for it to be independently checked!"
Thuraya nodded. "Just a sec," she replied, quickly clocking herself out, and indicating they should make their way to some comfy chairs set up as one of many reading nooks. Where the head librarian was already seated. Eeek.
The head librarian looked up with a smile as mother and daughter approached. "I hear you have a recommendation list for the summer reading program?" she asked kindly.
Yasmeen nodded, mutely, flipping to the first page of the list, and passing the notebook over.
Five minutes passed as the head librarian perused the list thoughtfully. They dragged, filling Yasmeen with anxiety. After a little bit, the librarian noticed Yasmeen still standing, and gestured for Yasmeen to take a seat on the couch across a low coffee table from her. Thuraya seated herself next to Yasmeen, and squeezed her daughter's hand, smiling.
Finally, the head librarian looked up, smiling. "This is a very good list. I can ask some of the other librarians if they have any other additions of their own, but you set up the list very well, you thought through what people would want to read, how to encourage them to try something new. I like it. I believe your mother suggested we might post it to the library's website?"
Yasmeen nodded mutely, heart thudding in her chest from adrenaline. "Yes, please," she managed.
The head librarian smiled. "We'll try to get it up as soon as we can. Thank you very much for this list."
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out an index card. "I have some at my desk, but they're a little cumbersome to carry around, so I just made myself one of these. Would you like a star charm for your valiant efforts?"
Yasmeen smiled, tension exiting her body in a rush. "Yes, please! I would like a green one for my brother, if I may."
