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Great book for the whole family with humor, mystery, and magic!
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Coven Tree
The Wish Giver
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Newbery Medal Honor Title (1984)
"In this account of sinister doings in Coven Tree, Stew Meat [of Devil's Donkey] relates the King Midas luck that came to three young people, each of whom had a wish fulfilled, and each of whom rued that fulfillment. (A) literary folk story at its best".--School Library Journal. Newbery Honor Book; ALA Notable Children's Book.
"In this account of sinister doings in Coven Tree, Stew Meat [of Devil's Donkey] relates the King Midas luck that came to three young people, each of whom had a wish fulfilled, and each of whom rued that fulfillment. (A) literary folk story at its best".--School Library Journal. Newbery Honor Book; ALA Notable Children's Book.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 1,1983
This edition
- Format
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192 pages, Paperback
- Published
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April 2, 2019 by HarperCollins
- ISBN
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9780064401685
- ASIN
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0064401685
- Language
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English
About the author
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William E. Brittain was an American writer. He is best known for work set in the fictional New England village of Coven Tree, including The Wish Giver, a Newbery Honor Book.
Brittain was born in Rochester, New York. He decided he wanted to be a 5th-grade teacher, and in addition to teaching, used to read stories in mystery magazines. After some time, he decided he could do as good a job at writing as some of the authors he read; he got coaching on writing from Frederic Dannay of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (in which, along with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, most of his mystery stories were published). He wrote two serials from 1964 to 1983, as well as other stories, before moving on to the children's books for which he is better known.
Brittain is also the author of the popular book All the Money in the World, which was adapted as a 1983 movie.
Brittain was born in Rochester, New York. He decided he wanted to be a 5th-grade teacher, and in addition to teaching, used to read stories in mystery magazines. After some time, he decided he could do as good a job at writing as some of the authors he read; he got coaching on writing from Frederic Dannay of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (in which, along with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, most of his mystery stories were published). He wrote two serials from 1964 to 1983, as well as other stories, before moving on to the children's books for which he is better known.
Brittain is also the author of the popular book All the Money in the World, which was adapted as a 1983 movie.
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Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
38(38%)
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28(28%)
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The Newbery Medal-winning book "The Wish Giver" by Bill Brittain is a book with a strong lesson embedded into it. One day, a strange man appears at the Coven Tree carnival, claiming to grant any wish for only 50 cents. Stew Meade, a shop owner, and three kids, Rowena, Adam, and Polly, head into the tent, doubting the strange Thaddeus Blinn's claims. After leaving the carnival, the kids find themselves wishing for something, despite feeling silly. In three respective stories, the kids come to understand the meaning of the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for". They each venture on a journey of both confusion and self-discovery. I highly recommend this book because of how the author sends the message through the eyes of three young kids. He doesn't just have the kids regret their wish, but also shows how they have grown because of it. They realize that even without the wish, not everything is as it seems. It shows how sometimes people wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to certain things. I also enjoyed how Brittain tied the entire story and the very different characters together in the end. It's a great read!
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What would you wish for??
Thaddeus Blinn
I CAN GIVE YOU
WHATEVER
YOU ASK FOR
ONLY 50¢
Only four people in town are willing to take Thaddeus up on his offer, with surprising results. Ok, maybe not that surprising to those of us who like to read. We know that granting wishes always comes with a cost and it's never really worth it in the end. But this is a cute story and fun to read.
If I could get the kids in our school to read it, some would probably enjoy it. But, the cover is old looking (it does not look like the one shown above) and the book is getting ready to fall apart. I decided to read it because the premise intrigued me, but I don't think I will have much success with the students. It's a Newbery Honor book, but it seems to just be taking up space. It will be in the discussion pile for our next weeding session. *sigh*
The good news, any books that do get "weeded" are donated to kids who don't have access to books.
Recommended to:
Grades 3-7 (according to the book jacket) - somewhere in the middle, I think. It's a good story to introduce the theme of "be careful what you wish for".
The cover of our book:
Thaddeus Blinn
I CAN GIVE YOU
WHATEVER
YOU ASK FOR
ONLY 50¢
Only four people in town are willing to take Thaddeus up on his offer, with surprising results. Ok, maybe not that surprising to those of us who like to read. We know that granting wishes always comes with a cost and it's never really worth it in the end. But this is a cute story and fun to read.
If I could get the kids in our school to read it, some would probably enjoy it. But, the cover is old looking (it does not look like the one shown above) and the book is getting ready to fall apart. I decided to read it because the premise intrigued me, but I don't think I will have much success with the students. It's a Newbery Honor book, but it seems to just be taking up space. It will be in the discussion pile for our next weeding session. *sigh*
The good news, any books that do get "weeded" are donated to kids who don't have access to books.
Recommended to:
Grades 3-7 (according to the book jacket) - somewhere in the middle, I think. It's a good story to introduce the theme of "be careful what you wish for".
The cover of our book:
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I forgot how much I enjoy middle grade books. This book was so cute, such a good story and honestly I need to see it on the big screen
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There’s so much I liked about it.
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The book “The Wish Giver” tells three stories of three different wishes, that have many troubling consequences for the wishers. The “wish giver” grants any wish you can think of, and travels around the world granting people's wishes.
One day three kids are at a town festival and discover a mysterious tent that wasn't very popular because it seemed like a scam. But the three kids gave him a chance and most of the money they had for the festival on the wishes. The wish giver gave the kids a card that would grant any one of their wishes. They were skeptical but they took the cards and went home. They would get their wishes but more than they bargained for.
I would highly recommend the book “The Wish Giver” It is a wonderful book for people of all ages. It’s a tale about magic men, girls who croak, and boys who are wished into becoming vegetation. A very good read if you like adventure as well as mystery. It's the perfect combination. The story is somewhat predictable, strange little man comes to town offering wishes, but the wishes don't go as planned, and everyone learns a lesson in the end, but it is written with such charm and wit and the predictability actually seems to add to the story.
I would give this story a 4/5
One day three kids are at a town festival and discover a mysterious tent that wasn't very popular because it seemed like a scam. But the three kids gave him a chance and most of the money they had for the festival on the wishes. The wish giver gave the kids a card that would grant any one of their wishes. They were skeptical but they took the cards and went home. They would get their wishes but more than they bargained for.
I would highly recommend the book “The Wish Giver” It is a wonderful book for people of all ages. It’s a tale about magic men, girls who croak, and boys who are wished into becoming vegetation. A very good read if you like adventure as well as mystery. It's the perfect combination. The story is somewhat predictable, strange little man comes to town offering wishes, but the wishes don't go as planned, and everyone learns a lesson in the end, but it is written with such charm and wit and the predictability actually seems to add to the story.
I would give this story a 4/5
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This book is an interesting version of ones I have heard before. It seems like a story my dad would tell. It's set far enough in the past that it was interesting to me. I personally enjoyed it very much and would suggest it to an older child to read. I like that it followed the different characters, I think it gave a good sense of the town and all the different kinds of people in it.
The issue of magic makes it understandable that it was on the banned list. I think the different characters show how people are different in the real world. Some of the characters disliked others purely because of their class which represents how many people feel today. I don't think that is something I would want my children to learn. I think it is something to learn from though, to show acceptance.
It took a little while for anything to really happen. I was 1/5th of the way through the book before any magic happened. There was a lot of backstory that wasn't necessary I feel.
The issue of magic makes it understandable that it was on the banned list. I think the different characters show how people are different in the real world. Some of the characters disliked others purely because of their class which represents how many people feel today. I don't think that is something I would want my children to learn. I think it is something to learn from though, to show acceptance.
It took a little while for anything to really happen. I was 1/5th of the way through the book before any magic happened. There was a lot of backstory that wasn't necessary I feel.
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i like this book so far and its realy good to
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