When You Wish Upon a Star

by Judy Collins (Read by), Leigh Harline (Lyricist), Ned Washington (Arranged by), Eric Puybaret (Illustrator)

Overview

A unique offering of a book and CD recorded by Judy Collins, featuring the classic theme: when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.

Grammy award-winning singer Judy Collins and illustrator Eric Puybaret, who together created the New York Times best-selling version of Over the Rainbow, are collaborating once again to bring a classic song to life.

Written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington in 1940, the Academy Award-winning When You Wish Upon a Star is beloved by listeners from 2 to 92 for its sweet hopefulness, poignant melody, and simple yet profound lyrics. No singer can capture the haunting beauty of this classic like Judy Collins, with her clear, pure, and emotionally resonant voice.

Eric Puybaret's captivating art, with its graceful lines, stunning use of color, and strong sense of fantasy, is the perfect complement to Collins' lovely interpretation.

Like OVER THE RAINBOW, this deluxe picture book features the highest-quality production values, making it a volume to treasure forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936140350
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	10/01/2011
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	11.70(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Judy Collins has thrilled audiences worldwide for nearly five decades with her magnificent voice and thoughtful interpretations. Many of Collins’s albums have been certified platinum and her version of Joni Mitchell’s "Both Sides Now" has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Her rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s "Send in the Clowns" won Grammy’s Song of the Year in 1975. Judy's film about Antonia Brico, co-directed by Jill Godmillow, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1974. Brico was Judy's classical piano teacher when she was young and was the first woman to conduct major symphonies around the world. In 2000, Judy founded her own record label, Wildflower Records. In 2010 she enjoyed two huge successes with the New York Times best-selling picture books and CD version of OVER THE RAINBOW, illustrated by Eric Puybaret, and her latest album, Paradise, a collection of ten songs, including duets with Stephen Stills and Joan Baez.

Editorial Reviews

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.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1—Puybaret's talent for illustrating well-loved songs ("Puff, the Magic Dragon" and "Over the Rainbow") has alit on the 1940s song from Disney's Pinocchio. With art flavored by its decade of origin, a star becomes a fairy who emerges from the sky to lead children from around the world through a fantasy land to their dreams. She wears a jaunty cap, layered stoles, a starred skirt, and striped stockings as she hovers, thanks to crisp-edged wings. The fantasy villages along the way show fun details in the spreads, scenes tied together with swirls of curlicues or star paths. The paintings' rich cobalts and pumpkins wander into pale blues and golds as needed. With the final phrase, the children float in the air, riding a unicorn, flying with birds and skiing on the wind. The CD of Judy Collins performing the song is lovely. Unfortunately, the text does not match her version, so these are perhaps best enjoyed separately. The disc also includes "The Other Side of My World" and a rather melancholy rendition of "All the Pretty Little Horses."—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

School Library Journal

The venerable and well-loved song from Disney'sPinocchiois lovingly re-imagined.

The song has been recorded by dozens of singers in every possible style. Harline's lyrics are uplifting and hope-filled and have remained in collective memory for 70 years. Each generation of children exposed to reissues of the movie finds it new and fresh. In this version, Puybaret's visual interpretation wistfully evokes a peaceful and magical world. A star-filled midnight-blue sky glows from the endpapers through the double-page spreads as a unifying motif. The wishing star appears first as a distant, diaphanous, almost ghostlike figure that morphs into a stylized fairy with delicate wings, dressed in blues and yellows. As she floats and flies about, she gathers a parade of multiethnic, multinational children through a brightly colored dreamscape. Then, returning to her place in the sky, she shines benevolently as the children fly about, with and without visible wings. The children's wishes appear at first to be mostly about candy and toys, but they interact and come together with gestures of peace and acceptance. The children's clothing, rendered in sharp, bright colors, reflect their various ethnicities but stop just short of stereotype.

Little ones will want to pore over the pages again and again as they read and sing along with the Judy Collins recording that is included. A gem. (illustrator's and performer's notes)(Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews