The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Jason Lethcoe (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

On his eleventh birthday, sad, orphaned Benjamin Bartholomew Piff accidentally adheres to all of the wishing rules—and, in wishing for the mother lode of limitless wishes, he unknowingly sets into a motion a chain of events that threatens to disrupt the balance between the magical realm of wishes and curses. Before long, Benjamin has been recruited by the Wishworks Factory director himself to fight the evil henchmen of the Curseworks Factory. In the process, Benjamin will reclaim his original wish—giving new credence to the old adage: “Be careful what you wish for . . . ”

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Benjamin lives in a horrible orphanage where he is punished by having to use a toothbrush to clean out the moldy cooking pots. He can still remember his parents and the life he used to lead before they died. When a social worker stops by with a birthday cake for him, his life is changed with a single wish come true—that he will have unlimited wishes. While this is good news for Benjamin, it's bad for the world as it upsets a natural balance and opens the door for Curseworks to put an evil plan in place that will make curses so strong that they cannot be stopped. The premise of the book is imaginative, but the characters are one-dimensional, leaving the story feeling flat. The descriptions of the Wishworks Factory are vivid and filled with details. Unfortunately, the orphanage itself seems old-fashioned, and readers will be jolted to find that they are actually in the modern world of video games and televisions rather than a world of Victorian orphans in top hats.—Tasha Saecker, Menasha Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Ben Piff has been having a bad day. His parents perished in an airplane crash a year earlier, leaving Ben at the mercy of the badly behaved adults who run Pinch's Home for Wayward Boys. He has spent the evening scraping out incredibly disgusting stew pots with an old toothbrush. A single bright spot appears when a social worker shows up with a cake for Ben's eleventh birthday. Benjamin Bartholomew Piff makes a wish when he has that birthday cake and everything changes. Ben is unaware that he managed to exactly follow all the rules for birthday wishing, and his clever wish for unlimited wishes comes true. This unfortunately has a devastating impact on the Wishworks and its president, Thomas Candlewick. The Wishworks is responsible for granting (or not granting, as the case may be) human wishes. Ben's unlimited wishes are negating other people's wishes and could cause the collapse of the entire wish industry. Just as Candlewick is sure his day cannot get any worse, the very powerful wish globe containing Ben's wish is stolen. Candlewick and Ben must team up with other wish-giving fairy folk and rescue the globe before all wishes are converted into powerful curses. This is a delightful read, with a fast paced plot, horrible bad guys, interesting good guys, espionage, robots, and even an epic battle scene. The vocabulary runs a little on the high side so it is probably not a good choice for reluctant readers, but your fantasy readers will love it. -- Children's Literature

Everything is bright and normal in Benjamin Bartholomew Piff's life until that terrible day when his parents are killed in a plane crash. There are no other relatives for him to live with, so he is put into Pinch's Home for Wayward Boys, "a dilapidated orphanage converted from a windowless industrial building that once produced dental tools."

There are several things wrong with this setup for 11-year old Benjamin: 1) He is not "wayward"; 2) There is nothing home-like about the place; and 3) He hates it. In addition, the awful orphanage chef, Solomon Roach, always seems to be punishing Benjamin for something, and Eliza Pinch's "perfume smelled of an old cat box." Eliza is the head of the orphanage and an old spinster who doesn't like children and is bent on making his life miserable. The one very bright spot in Benjamin's sad life is a little stray terrier dog he call Rags. Of course pets are not allowed, so Benjamin is forced to sneak away for short times to feed small scraps to his little friend.

Benjamin also has a plan. The old gardener at the orphanage, Mr. Kunkel, has been giving Benjamin quarters for helping out with little things. It's Mr. Kunkel who has allowed Benjamin to keep his puppy in an old doghouse on the property. But the nice old man has been fired. Now Benjamin visits Rags and keeps his little bag of saved quarters hidden away. His plan is going fine until one evening when Ms. Pinch catches him sneaking out of the doghouse. That's the end of his money, and Benjamin is losing hope fast.

So who would have guessed that when the social worker drops off a birthday cake for Benjamin, who completely forgot about the big day, his life would completely change? And what kind of birthday wish does he make? Why, just what every kid would wish for in his situation --- that he would be granted all the wishes he could ever want! Suddenly everything is different: Mr. Roach is waiting on him, Ms. Pinch adores him, he's ordering big screen televisions, computer games, ice cream, candy and all sorts of goodies to make himself and the boys totally happy at the orphanage. WOW! This is the way life should always be!

But there's not much happiness in the world of Wishworks. Benjamin's wishes are throwing everything into chaos; if he doesn't stop, then something really terrible is going to happen. Thomas Candlewick, who is about to become the new leader of Wishworks, is on high alert when Benjamin's disastrous birthday wish becomes known. With the assistance of flying chairs, fairies, genies and an assortment of other strange little characters, Mr. Candlewick realizes that they must pay Benjamin a visit before greater disaster strikes.

This is where Benjamin's story gets even more fun, because he is transported to the Wishworks world and is soon engaged in a battle against Curseworks (a group determined to take over Wishworks and all the good things they do). Lots of action ensues, and Benjamin must overcome many fears and make some extremely difficult decisions.

One of the great charms found in Jason Lethcoe's book is the addition of many delightful, informative footnotes from the world of Wishworks. Explanations are given for word definitions, histories and characters. For instance, what exactly is a Thaumaturgic Cardioscope, or when and where did Wishworks originate? Characters are given creative names like Wolfgang Warblegrunt (the founder of Wishworks historical library) and Leonardo Snifflewiffle (past president of Wishworks). A wonderful map is provided, an appendix of past presidents of Wishworks is attached and lighthearted illustrations by the author himself are scattered throughout.

Benjamin's misadventures are just beginning, so readers can look forward to more stories in future installments. Younger fans of Harry Potter-like fantasies will be sure to want this book on their shelves.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts ([e-mail]) -- Kidsreads.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (April 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448444968
• ISBN-13: 978-0448444963
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He is transported to the Wishworks world and is soon engaged in a battle against Curseworks, June 5, 2007

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish (Hardcover)

Everything is bright and normal in Benjamin Bartholomew Piff's life until that terrible day when his parents are killed in a plane crash. There are no other relatives for him to live with, so he is put into Pinch's Home for Wayward Boys, "a dilapidated orphanage converted from a windowless industrial building that once produced dental tools."

There are several things wrong with this setup for 11-year old Benjamin: 1) He is not "wayward"; 2) There is nothing home-like about the place; and 3) He hates it. In addition, the awful orphanage chef, Solomon Roach, always seems to be punishing Benjamin for something, and Eliza Pinch's "perfume smelled of an old cat box." Eliza is the head of the orphanage and an old spinster who doesn't like children and is bent on making his life miserable. The one very bright spot in Benjamin's sad life is a little stray terrier dog he call Rags. Of course pets are not allowed, so Benjamin is forced to sneak away for short times to feed small scraps to his little friend.

Benjamin also has a plan. The old gardener at the orphanage, Mr. Kunkel, has been giving Benjamin quarters for helping out with little things. It's Mr. Kunkel who has allowed Benjamin to keep his puppy in an old doghouse on the property. But the nice old man has been fired. Now Benjamin visits Rags and keeps his little bag of saved quarters hidden away. His plan is going fine until one evening when Ms. Pinch catches him sneaking out of the doghouse. That's the end of his money, and Benjamin is losing hope fast.

So who would have guessed that when the social worker drops off a birthday cake for Benjamin, who completely forgot about the big day, his life would completely change? And what kind of birthday wish does he make? Why, just what every kid would wish for in his situation --- that he would be granted all the wishes he could ever want! Suddenly everything is different: Mr. Roach is waiting on him, Ms. Pinch adores him, he's ordering big screen televisions, computer games, ice cream, candy and all sorts of goodies to make himself and the boys totally happy at the orphanage. WOW! This is the way life should always be!

But there's not much happiness in the world of Wishworks. Benjamin's wishes are throwing everything into chaos; if he doesn't stop, then something really terrible is going to happen. Thomas Candlewick, who is about to become the new leader of Wishworks, is on high alert when Benjamin's disastrous birthday wish becomes known. With the assistance of flying chairs, fairies, genies and an assortment of other strange little characters, Mr. Candlewick realizes that they must pay Benjamin a visit before greater disaster strikes.

This is where Benjamin's story gets even more fun, because he is transported to the Wishworks world and is soon engaged in a battle against Curseworks (a group determined to take over Wishworks and all the good things they do). Lots of action ensues, and Benjamin must overcome many fears and make some extremely difficult decisions.

One of the great charms found in Jason Lethcoe's book is the addition of many delightful, informative footnotes from the world of Wishworks. Explanations are given for word definitions, histories and characters. For instance, what exactly is a Thaumaturgic Cardioscope, or when and where did Wishworks originate? Characters are given creative names like Wolfgang Warblegrunt (the founder of Wishworks historical library) and Leonardo Snifflewiffle (past president of Wishworks). A wonderful map is provided, an appendix of past presidents of Wishworks is attached and lighthearted illustrations by the author himself are scattered throughout.

Benjamin's misadventures are just beginning, so readers can look forward to more stories in future installments. Younger fans of Harry Potter-like fantasies will be sure to want this book on their shelves.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next Harry Potter series!, April 14, 2007

By 

M. Williams - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish (Hardcover)

This book is incredible! I can see myself championing Benjamin like I do Harry! I hear that the author has the second and third book in the series due out in July and October. Ben is clever and the story is very compelling. I can't wait for the second one! I am glad this book came out just in time because the 7th HP book is coming out July 21st! Woot! Can't Wait! This series will keep me going now. I think a good description of this book would be a Harry Potter meets Willy Wonka type story. Benjamin wishes for unlimited wishes and adheres to all of the secret "wishing rules" and the Wishworks factory goes into a frenzy trying to grant his requests! I think this series has the potential to be huge!

The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple but fun, April 28, 2007

By 

mimagirl "Miss Erin" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish (Hardcover)

***1/2

Ever since his parents died in a tragic accident, poor Ben has been stuck at Pinch's Home for Wayward Boys, scrubbing pots and eating mush and other normal orphanage-type stuff. He even forgot his birthday, until a kind friend brings him a cake. When he sneaks a slice to eat, he stares thoughtfully at the candle a moment. Finally he closes his eyes, blows, and makes a wish. Little does he know that his wish could change the whole world.

This was a fun, cute book that I zipped right through. The characters were disappointingly flat, but the plot was inventive and the story over-all engaging. A light read that young children who enjoy "wishes-go-wrong" stories are sure to enjoy.