The Wish Giver

Coven Tree

by Bill Brittain, Andrew Glass (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Banned Books, Young Adult, Juvenile

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1983

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Dream.M · Rating 3 out of 5]

یک روز براورنده آرزو ها اومد به شهرمون. بهم گفت یه آرزو کن تا برآورده کنم. گفتم من یه پسری رو دوست دارم که فقط سالی یبار تابستونا میاد اینجا، کاری کن برای همیشه اینجا بمونه و ریشه بزنه . بعد پسره تبدیل به درخت شد.

[Kendra Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was in grade school. I remembered being captivated by both the story and the way the frogs in the book croaked, "jug-a-rum." I was thinking about this book a few weeks ago and decided to give it another read to find out what had captivated me so much as a child.

As with many things I have found magical as a child, I cannot say for sure what it was about this book that moved me to ask my parents for a copy of it to call my own (I had to get the copy I read from a library because most of the books from my childhood were destroyed in a flood.)

That isn't to say that the book wasn't delightful to read as an adult. This tale of "be careful what you wish for" is well-written and stood the test of time. I was never bored even though I could recall a great deal of the book as I read. It is in fact a testament to the magic of the book, the author, and the tale that it was able to speak to the person I was in such a way that I would seek it out to try to experience for a moment the innocence of a younger me reading a tale about magic men, girls who croak, and boys who are wished into becoming vegetation.

[Mikella · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this in grade 5 and loved it

[Andria Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a Newberry? This was poorly written, the characters were unbelievable, and the plot was absolutely predictable. I wonder if it's because it was promoting witchcraft and wishes and the like as evil, as the characters were 'good church abiding citizens/children'. I think this is easily one of the worst Newberrys that I've read yet. 2 ⭐ and I'm being generous. I couldn't stand the characters, and overall, just blegh. No thank you. I recommend any Newberry but this one.

[Liza Fireman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute book, with three tales. I read this as part of trying to read Newbery Medal Award and Nominees and finding out old jewel books on the way.

Polly, the girl, that wishes that other children will pay attention to her, and instead of her voice gets a bullfrog’s croak.
Rowena, who is in love with Henry, and just wants him to love her back and not leave so frequently, and gets Henry to stay with her wish.
And last, Adam, who wants to have water in the family farm. But his wish is going a bit wrong.

Each one is learning a lesson from their wish. And of course, there has to be a way to undo these wishes that go so wrong.

The bullfrog story reminds of the scene from The Phantom of the Opera. Maybe Andrew Lloyd Webber was inspired by this book that was published three years before Phantom made it out.

Almost 4 stars.

[Nutter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time with this book. How it won a Newbery I'll never know. Must have been a really bad year for literature. But 180 pages to say, "be careful what you wish for because you just might get it" is a little excessive. I hated this book when I read it in college as part of a Children's Lit course on the grounds that it had nothing to offer children. I hated it when I read it this time on the grounds that it was just a waste of paper.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a surprising delight! I’m always pleased to come across an unknown book that turns out to be great fun.

I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed it as much without the audio. The narrator was fantastically hilarious. His voices had me giggling away.

Great little lessons for people who wish for something better. I would love to share this one with my fifth graders. Highly recommended.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't have chosen this book as a Newberry Award honoree, nor would I ever considering banning it (If I supported banning books, which I don't). The subject matter is wishes, not witchcraft or devil or occult anything as some may believe from the town name and early description of the town. The characters in the story all get what they wished for -with unintended consequences. These consequences are hammered home with a heavy moral. If anything, this is a moral tale for the young.

It was hard to tell whether this book was contemporary to the 1980s or set in an earlier time. If contemporary, it really reinforces gender stereotypes. At first I thought it was pushing gender norms (i.e. ladylike behavior) but the moral is loud and clear and not what I expected. Polly's story was my favorite, despite the annoying Nellie Olsen girls. Rowena was just plain dumb and silly and deserved what happened while Adam meant well. Adam was lazy and got what he wished for and then some. Oddly though the moral isn't about laziness so much as be careful what you wish for.

I didn't care for the folksy voice of the narrator, Stew Meat. I'm not from Maine but I am from New England and I have never heard anyone use the phrase "Consarn it!" or even the word "crick." It made me think of Little House on the Prairie.

[Jeffery Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard this book in elementary school and I absolutely fell in love with it. The stories are clever and have the twist of being written in the same style as folklore tales like "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" -- a style I absolutely love.

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.

A couple years ago I bought a copy on Amazon and read it to my kids. They loved it and two have since read it again. So I recommend it for everyone!

[Patty]

If you saw me log this for my reading challenge no you didn’t. It was actually good okay. Thank you to fifth grade for letting me borrow

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose this because I enjoy thoughtful stories about the consequences of poorly thought-out wishes. This isn't thoughtful enough as the wishers are almost as heedless as the man who gets a sausage stuck to his nose. The voices of the characters are uneven and unconvincing, and the way the three stories are tied together is a cheat. I wouldn't have particularly liked this as a child, even before I had read other, better stories on the theme (or seen better Twilight Zone episodes, even).

Oh, and look, it's a Newbery Honor book, so I'll be trying to find a copy to reread in a few years. Maybe in a group discussion I'll learn to appreciate something more from it.

[Ridgewood Public Library Youth Services · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Payam Ebrahimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

معمولی بود
به‌نظرم با موقعیتی که ساخته بود می‌تونست فضای فوق‌العاده‌تری بسازه، اما از پتانسیل موجود در کار استفاده نشده بود
ترجمه افتضاح بود
تصاویر رو هم اصلاً دوست نداشتم و به‌نظرم خیلی از فضای متن دور بودن

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy read.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun children’s story my fourth grade teacher started reading to us and then never finished. Almost 40 years I’ve been waiting for that ending! Fabulous and fanciful tale, worth the wait.

[Latrisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

at the begining of the book they are at a church social and see this tent that had a sign infront of it saying i can make all your wishes come true.so they all pay 50cents to make a wish but the thing is all there wishes are turned around cause they didnt word them right so the first chapter is about rowina and her wish is that people woluld pay more attention and wants to get invited to agatha and eurnices house.the second one is all about rowina her wish is that henry would plant roots but what she actully ment was that she wanted him to stay in coven tree so instead he turned into a tree cause thaddis blinn had turn her wish into what she said and her lesson learned is to never judge a book by its cover.chapter2 is about adam who made the best wish for his family but worded it really wrong his wish was that the whole farm was coverd with water so the farm got flooded instad of just having a pond.last chapter is about stew meat aka stwert his wish was worded right his didnt get messed up he wished that all the four youngings wish was cannncelled and every thing was back to normal and i want to tell you something polly learned that never say mean things and you will have more friends so every time she got mad she would say something bad to you the thing is to not get on here nerves

[Reading is my Escape · Rating 3 out of 5]

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:
 

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When The Wish Giver comes to the Coven Tree church social, four townspeople exchange 50 cents each for one wish. They can't even begin to dream how their wishes will affect their lives.

I remember loving this book when I was in about fifth grade. I couldn't remember a thing about the story but I remember how much I loved this book.

It held up well! As a young reader, I doubt that I noticed that the story is a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for, I just liked the fanciful way that the wishes turned out. Polly wishes that people would like her and smile when they see her. Rowena wishes that a handsome traveling salesman would put down roots in their town. Adam wishes for water all over his parents' farm. They get what they wish for, all right!

This was a quick, easy read for me and I'm pretty sure I smiled all the way through, reliving the magic I felt as a young reader. The illustrations by Andrew Glass are great too. There's one picture of the traveling salesman in particular that still sends a chill down my spine!

I wholehearted recommend this for younger readers. It's a fun story that would be a delight to read aloud with a child.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy

Four people from the town of Coven Tree stumble across a tent at the church social. Inside is a stubby little man named Thaddeus Blinn who claims he can make any wish come true. He gives each of the four a card and tells them to wish if they would like. Three of them decide on their own time to do it. Interestingly enough their exact wishes come true, but not in the way they intended. They must figure out a way to reverse the magic that has happened.

I thought this was a cute book with a good lesson to learn: Be careful what you wish for!

Ideas for the classroom:
-Great book for lower/struggling readers
-Discussion on how words/language has changed over the years: ex)They say the phrase "Consarn it" a lot, which we have replaced today with "Darn it" and "Oh Shute"
-Discussion of the theme of Be Careful What You Wish For and any personal connections

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love "be careful what you wish for" stories. The plot is a little predictable for adults, but this was written for children, and is a five-star book for kids. Not only do the characters' wishes turn out EXACTLY as they wish, but they all end up with what they SHOULD have wished for at the end. A fun, quick read.

[Aaron Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first had this story read to me by my 3rd grade teacher. It’s just as magical to me now as it was then. This book takes me back in time and it is very special to me. Also it has three great messages woven into the story. I think this should be mandatory for all 3rd grade teachers to read to their students so all kids can visit Coven Tree.

[Julie (Bookshelf Adventures) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful children’s story that tells the age old lesson: Be Careful What You Wish For

Full review here:

https://bookshelfadventures.home.blog...

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really fun! I did not finish it, but I only had a few pages left.

[Seth P]

ok not the best story but good

[Shelby Junkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this book so far and its realy good to

[Wayne Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coven Tree is a small village somewhere in New England which was named for a huge, twisted tree in the area around which covens of witches once gathered. The local storekeeper, Stewart Meade, known locally as “Stew Meat,” tells the story of the mysterious Thaddeus Blinn who sets up a tent at the town’s church social and sells tickets promising to grant any wish for fifty cents.

Stewart buys one of the tickets, and so do three young people. Eleven year old Polly Kemp has the bad habit of speaking her mind which makes people ignore her, and she wants folks to pay attention to her. Fifteen year old Rowena Jervis is in love with travelling salesman Henry Piper, and she wants him to put down roots in Coven Tree. Sixteen year old Adam Fisk’s family lives on a farm that is dryer than a desert where he has to haul water from a distant stream, and he wants them to have water all over the place. What do Polly, Rowena, and Adam each wish for? How will their wishes be fulfilled? And what can they do to solve any problems created by those wishes?

This story, which was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1984, illustrates the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for because you may get it.” Several colloquial euphemisms (e.g., tarnation, consarn you, goldurn, dad-blast) are used, but the biggest thing that some people may object to is the obvious references to “magic.” One reviewer noted, “There is an eerie side to the book, but fortunately it remains subdued.” There is nothing overtly scary or frightening, but while the occult connection may be subdued, it is definitely there. If one doesn’t mind this, or is willing to overlook it, the book has both entertaining humor and some instructive moral lessons.

[Renitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my childhood favorites when it was originally written and the nostalgia is still there. The stories are reminiscent of parables from the South, told by grandparents after church services on hot summer days. These are the stories that are so ridiculous that you roll your eyes and say "that never happened," all the while silently thinking that you would never be so foolish as to make a careless wish or show such behavior as to suffer the consequences, right?

I was today years old when I found out that this is considered a "banned" book. For promoting witchcraft, no less. With a fair amount of mental gymnastics - like, an Olympics-worthy floor routine at minimum - I can almost see how a very paranoid person living prior to the advent of the Internet could see it. I mean, dowsing? A practice that was once commonly believed to be a legitimate method of sourcing water during drought? WITCHERY! A strange man passing through town offers wishes to children that prove actions have consequences? Why, he must be recruiting for the dark lord! We couldn't possibly consider any form of parental neglect, right?

Or - and go with me for just a moment - consider that this is a book which is just over forty years old. Now think of a forty-year-old that you know; it may even be yourself. Are there things that they do or used to do that you raised an eyebrow at? Was it witchcraft? Or was it generational differences?

[Destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book back in grade school, when I was around eight or nine. I remember being completely drawn into the story, and I hung on every word. Fast forward to me finding the book at a local secondhand bookstore years later. I grabbed it off the shelf immediately and bought it without a second thought. It's still as wonderful as ever.

The "be careful what you wish for" moral has been used in thousands of stories, so this isn't a new concept. You also somehow know exactly where the story is heading (or maybe this is just me as an adult, because I do slightly remember having "Aha!" moments as a kid reading this). Despite all this, it's straightforward and tells things as they are, and the storytelling is delightful: bleak and yet humorous, told in the wry tone of Stew Meat, a no-nonsense narrator-slash-main-character curious enough to involve himself in the main plot in the first place and wise enough to listen to children without admonishing them.

I'm glad I bought the book, and I'm glad I read it again. This is definitely something I'll want my daughter to read in a year or two - a good balance of real-world (as real as it can get with magic and shady salesmen) lessons and hope.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on the recommendation of one of my students. She said it was one of her favorite books growing up, so she passed it along for me to read. I had never heard of it, so I was curious what made her like it so much. Unlike what I normally do, I didn't read anything about what the book was about, other than that it was fantasy and that from the title it had something to do with wishes. So it was interesting reading Polly's story and slowly realizing that this book was going to be a lesson in "be careful what you wish for". I thought it was very well written and I liked that the author went from Polly's story to Rowena's story to Adam's story and slowly connected them back to Stew Meat's story (he was the narrator). Although Stew Meat calls it the "evil" that befell their town, I like that all three kids learned lessons that ended up helping them and maturing them. Polly's rant at Stew Meat at the end also made me laugh. Overall, it was probably not a 5 star book for me, but I enjoyed it very much and it's good to see an old story like this stand the test of time.