When Jessi volunteers to help supervise the Kids Can Do Anything Club, she meets nine-year-old Danielle. Danielle has a beautiful smile and a great sense of humor. But Danielle is no ordinary little girl. She has cancer.
Jessi never met anyone like Danielle before. Even though she is very sick, Danielle is courageous and hopeful. She even has two wishes. The first is to go to Disney World. The second is to graduate from elementary school. Jessi knows she has to be strong for Danielle, and so she makes a very special wish of her own.
Summary[]
With the help of Your Wish Is My Command, the Roberts family are able to go on vacation to Disney World. Near the end, Danielle goes back to the hospital, but the Kids Club and Jessi all send her letters. Jessi also makes the same wish twice: 'Please get better, Danielle,'
Subplot[]
The BSC members volunteer at different places for about a month.
Charlotte is in the third grade when she's supposed to be in fourth.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
The idea for Jessi’s Wish came to me after I heard about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to critically ill children. I thought it sounded like a wonderful program, so I granted a wish for a young girl named Danielle. Once I got to know Danielle, I was struck by her courage in the face of her illness, and I wanted to write a story about a girl who, like Danielle, had cancer. This is why Jessi’s Wish is dedicated to the real Danielle.
Several years after this book came out, Starlight, an organization in Chicago similar to Make-A-Wish, contacted me. They had heard about a girl named Nikki whose wish was to meet the author of The Baby-sitters Club. So I flew to Chicago and spent the day with Nikki and her family. A couple of years later, another girl with a similar wish came to New York with her family to meet me. And just a year ago, I heard about Elizabeth, whose wish was to meet her favorite author. She and her family were flown to New York City, and I spent the afternoon with them. I’ve met many wonderful kids who have inspired me with their spirit, which is why Jessi’s Wish is so special to me.
Trivia[]
One of the weekend club meetings is held at Mary Anne and Dawn's house. Another is held in Jessi's room; this is the first time a BSC meeting is held at Jessi's house.
Vanessa and two of her friends have seen high school cheerleaders perform.
Kristy loves working with babies.
The fourth and fifth graders know Danielle the best.
Your Wish is My Command is an allusion to the Make a Wish Foundation
Jessi has stuffed animals and ceramic horses.
Kendra is cerebral palsy which is something that Addie Sidney also has from the Little Sister series.
The BSC doesn't have regular meetings in this book.
Danielle didn’t know anything about YWIMC until they received enough money through donations to grant her wish. In real life, charities similar to the foundation have to interview the prospective wish candidate.
Gallery[]
Letter to the reader at the end of the book stating that Scholastic and the author will donate four cents for each Jessi's Wish book sold to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Bookmark that came with the first printing of this book