She stared down at the dandelion in her hand.
It seemed so much more important
now that she knew it was a place to put her wishes.
What if she made the wrong choice?

Carmela is excited to accompany her older brother into town for the first time. Although her big brother isn’t happy to have her, he ends up acting as all big brothers should. Matt De La Pena’s Carmela Full of Wishes is a beautiful story to which many children will feel connected to:
- Dreams and wishes
- Looking up to older siblings
- Being annoyed by younger siblings
- Loving your siblings anyway
- Celebrating birthdays
Second graders say:
“It’s a good ending for a wish. Being nice and calm led to the wish. He learns – don’t be rude to your sister. –Landon
He wanted to be independent. When she feel, he realized he needed to be nicer to her. She realized she had to be nicer to him. –Elsie
In the beginning, the boy thought it was his thing. He doesn’t want anyone else to take it over. –Olivia
The brother was annoyed by the jingling bracelets. At the end, she took off the bracelets because she didn’t want to annoy him. –Matthew