Has your child ever made a wish--a wish from the bottom of his heart that consumes his every thought? If so, this is the perfect story to read with your child, and he just might learn that wishing is not all it's cracked up to be.

Jason, the main character, is playing pirates with his pet parakeet, Sonny, when the blare of an ambulance siren startles the bird and causes him to fly out the window. Instead of praying, Jason wishes for his parakeet's safe return every morning when the clock strikes 11:11, every afternoon by tossing a penny into a fountain, and every night by wishing upon the brightest star. When his mother finds out about all of his wishing, she encourages him to pray instead. Miraculously, his parakeet returns the very next morning!

I was drawn to A Wish and a Prayer when I saw the parakeet on the cover. My family owned several parakeets during my childhood, so I thought this would be a neat story to share with my five-year-old daughter. She enjoyed the story, and we've added it to our paperback basket in the living room.

I can relate to A Wish and a Prayer's main character, Jason, because I too lost a parakeet as a child. Unfortunately my own story didn't end so well. When we got to the part of the story when Jason's prayer was answered, my daughter pointed out that God doesn't always answer our prayers. Her statement led to a very important discussion about God and prayer. I love it when life lessons can be discussed and taught naturally through everyday activities, affording me the opportunity to build character and pass down Godly wisdom to my children!

A Wish and a Prayer is a 27-page softcover recommended for children between the ages of 4 and 8. It's a great book for teaching children the difference between wishing and praying. You can purchase the book for $10.99 directly from the publisher by visiting www.4rvpublishingllc.com. Although the book can be purchased from several other stores, the publisher's site offered the best price.