Evangeline: The Wish Keeper's Helper

Australian novelist, journalist, and magazine editor Maggie Alderson’s children’s book Evangeline: The Wish Keeper's Helper (2011) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award in Australia but is not yet available in other countries. Inspired by a painting made by a local artist, and intended for kindergarten and elementary school children, Alderson’s fairy tale centers on a toy elephant whose owner has outgrown playing with her and asks the question – what happens to toys when they are no longer needed?

According to Alderson, five years before writing the book, she “bought a watercolor of a toy elephant from an artist who lives near me, called Claire Fletcher. That little elephant sat on the mantelpiece in my study and I would look at her thinking, Where are you going, little one? Why are your cheeks so pink? Why do you have such an air of slightly anxious anticipation? Until I finally realized that the only way I would ever discover her story was to write it myself.” Not only did she draw on Fletcher’s original artwork for her idea – Fletcher’s watercolor and ink illustrations accompany the text of the novel. The artwork is gentle and whimsical, in keeping with the faux-aged look of the novel’s pages, giving the whole work the air of a book from another time.

The novel opens as Evangeline, a stuffed toy elephant, lies under a child’s bed. She remembers a time long ago when her young owner unwrapped her from a box and named her after a favorite song. But it has been a while since the little girl has played with her, danced with her, and held her on her lap while the girl’s father read her bedtime stories about other elephants; she used to go to sleep hugging Evangeline. Now the only time Evangeline is moved from under the bed is when someone needs to vacuum the space.



One day, a broom unceremoniously sweeps her out from under the bed and Evangeline is thrown into a black plastic garbage bag with a bunch of other old toys, books, and clothing. Eventually, the bag and its contents are transported Upstairs – the place where all retired toys eventually end up.

Upstairs is a combination of an old folk’s home, a commune, and heaven. Here, although the owners of the toys have already forgotten them, the toys themselves cling to their memories of little boys and girls who once loved them. Nevertheless, they are no longer allowed to be playthings. Instead, after being “processed,” the former toys are assigned jobs according to their knowledge, skills, interests, and experience. Thrilled at the idea of becoming useful once again, Evangeline makes friends with other Upstairs toys like Kylie the koala.

Although Upstairs seems at first to be a refuge where time flows differently enough that old toys stop their material wear and tear, what Evangeline soon realizes that is Upstairs isn’t enough for her. She doesn’t want to just be a forgotten toy with responsibilities – she wants once again to be someone’s cherished companion.



However, there is only one way this can happen: some toys are sent back Downstairs to a new child. The power that makes this determination is the Wish Keeper – a being that grants wishes with the help of specially selected toys. The Wish Keeper grants Evangeline the honor of being a helper, directly making wishes come true by keeping alive the hope that fuels wishes. Soon Evangeline realizes that this means she will never leave upstairs. Watching all of the other toys disappear until she alone is left, she realizes that something is not right in the Upstairs world. Until she fixes this terrible wrong, her own wish will never be fulfilled.

Although the novel ends happily, with peace and tranquility restored, the plot examines several serious issues. It tackles the upsides of friendship and the feelings of loneliness and abandonment that an ended friendship can bring. It also considers ways to understand the bad actions of others, urging readers to see a situation from another’s perspective to gain insight into the motivations that drive misbehavior.