The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (Paperback)

~ (Author), Andrew Glass (Illustrator) "On the bank of Spider Crick, Polly Kemp bent down and grasped the wide cattail leaf..." (more)
Key Phrases: dowser man, wish giver, dowsing rod, Henry Piper, Coven Tree, Polly Kemp (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Various people take cards from Thaddeus Blinn, who says he can give them whatever they desire. Polly, who has a sharp tongue, asks to be well-liked. Rowena wants Henry to stay in town long enough to put down roots. Sam, sick of hauling water, wishes for water on his folks farm. They all get their wishes, with some truly horrible side effects, in Brittain's Newbery Honor Book.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An eerie delight." -- NYT.

"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'folksy, fascinating and fun." -- SLJ.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 18, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064401685
• ISBN-13: 978-0064401685
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,292 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I want my child to be a lawyer when he grows up...", November 16, 1998

By	Auliya "An Avid Reader" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

"...What book should I have him read?"

Your would-be lawyer prodigy should read 'The Wish Giver' to learn early on the difference between the letter and the spirit of the law. In this case, the law of magic, and the 'just desserts' granted by its mysterious logic.

Fact: After reading this book as an 8 year old girl, I spent hours of my time designing wishes in contractual format that would not allow my wish giver to cheat me one bit.

Highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Magical and Mysterious Book!, April 9, 2001

A Kid's Review

I just finished reading a great book by Bill Brittain called The Wish Giver. The book consists of three sections,Jug-a-Rm, The Tree Man, and Water, Water, Everywhere. In Jug-a-Rum, a girl named Polly made a wish to be noticed. She sure got that wish but not in the best way. She started to croak like a frog. In The Tree Man, another girl named Rowena made a wish that her boyfriend would never leave. Well, she didn't word her wish right and her boyfriend got turned into a tree. Finally, in Water, Water, Everywhere, a kid named Adam made a wish that his farm would get more water because it didn't have much. Well, so much water came because of his wish that he and his family were flooded out. In the end a man named Stew Meat wished all three wishes would go away, and they did. Thecharacters that were in the book were pretty cool. Theonly one I disliked was Rowena and her story. I disliked this section because it wasn't as exciting as the other sections. Overall, I think it was a great book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes magical and mysterious books like, one of my favorites, Harry Potter.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be careful what you wish for, it might come true, December 23, 2001

By	R. J Metz (Blacksburg, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is one that everybody should have. It is about three youngsters who visit a magic man named Thaddeus Blinn, who claims that he can give them whatever they want for only fifty cents each. Each one gets a white card with a red spot on it. They are to place their thumbs on the red spot and say what they wish for. Well, one of them wishes that she would be popular and ends up sounding like a frog. Another wishes that her boyfriend would never leave her, but she doesn't say her wish right and her boyfriend puts down tree roots. Another wishes his fathers farm would have enough water, but instead the farm gets flooded. I hope to one day see a movie made out of this.