The Wishing Cap

London, early 19th century. A wealthy lady bestows upon five children in her care a magical wishing cap, and their desires spiral into chaos. One boy, Charles, alone refuses to wish for toys or sweets or riches. While his siblings clash over their greedy wishes, Charles asks only for God's love and the salvation of his soul. The story unfolds with the quiet certainty of Victorian moral tales, building toward Charles's tragic yet peaceful death as the inevitable consequence of his spiritual clarity. Sherwood, a pioneer of children's literature, wrote with the conviction that young readers could confront mortality and virtue without sentimentality. The wishing cap itself becomes a mirror: it grants every wish, yet reveals that wanting everything leaves you with nothing. This is a book about what we think we need versus what we actually require and about the radical possibility of a child who chooses faith over desire.