Barker's Wish

Barker's Wish

Barker's Wish is the heartwarming story of a dog who feels alienated because he is different, so he makes a wish―the kind of wish many adults made when they were young. This book is appropriate for young children but its lesson is applicable to older readers, as well, including parents―we're all still trying to find our inner voices, right? It is elegant in its simplicity, with clear and basic language combined with a powerful theme revealed in surprising plot twists. Barker is teased for being different. But then he makes a wish—you'll never guess what it is, but it ultimately reveals the power of friendship, acceptance, and individuality. AUTHOR Dan Stern loved picture books as a kid. Then he grew up and made two little kids of his own who also loved picture books. Dan has spent many nights tucking in his children, reading them classics, and telling them wild tales. Many of those tales were simply versions of famous movies that he pawned off as his own (while his wife poured so much effort into making up imaginative stories from scratch). But some of Dan's tales were original creations, too.  Barker's Wish  is one such late-night story—it resonated so deeply with his kids that they convinced him to turn it into a book. Through his company, Metro Academic Prep, Dan has spent more than 25 years privately educating thousands of students from grade school through grad school. He has always believed that every great education begins with the simple but profound lessons children learn when their parents curl up with them at night and read them picture books.   ILLUSTRATOR Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Iva Zugic began her art career at an early age. At 8, one of her woodblock pieces won a national competition and is hanging in the National Museum in the heart of Belgrade. Iva attended Dizajnerska High School in Dedinje and later studied Studio Art at Lewis-Clark College and Art Direction at University of Texas at Austin. Iva has been working as an art director, illustrator and artist in New York and Austin. Her work varies from pencil studies to large abstract oil paintings. On most days she works in advertising. On most nights she paints.