The Wish Giver
 Paperback cover | |
| Author | Bill Brittain |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Andrew Glass |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's book |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
Publication date | 1983 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 181 pp |
| ISBN | 0-06-020686-1 (First edition) |
| OCLC | 9080819 |
| LC Class | PZ7.B78067 Wi 1983 |
The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree is a 1983 young adult or children's book by Bill Brittain. The "wish giver" in the title refers to the enigmatic man who gives three children a wish to make their deepest dreams come true, but the wishes are not worded carefully, and go horribly wrong. The plot structure and moral of the book are strikingly similar to those of the traditional Faust legend and W. W. Jacobs's short story "The Monkey's Paw."
The Wish Giver was the recipient of a Newbery Honor citation in 1984.[1]
Plot summary
The narrator Stewart Meade (nicknamed "Stew Meat"), meets a strange man named Thaddeus Blinn in a carnival tent and notices something unusual about him. Stew Meat sees that there are three children in the tent who he recognizes as Polly, Rowena, and Adam. Blinn sells each of them a card with a red spot on it, for only 50 cents each, explaining that all they have to do is to press their finger and it will come true – exactly as they tell it.
Jug-A-Rum
Polly, an 11-year-old tomboy, loves to play with bullfrogs and her only two friends. Polly wishes to be popular, and have the school's two most popular girls, Agatha and Eunice, to like her and invite her over for a tea party in which they would pretend to talk like real ladies. The wish is granted, but now she croaks like a frog when she says vain, mean words about other people. Her sudden croaking in the middle of class causes her to become the center of attention – amid much grins and guffaws – at her school. Agatha and Eunice invite her over, but she learns during her visit that the girls are snobbish and unlikable people, and they only invited her to ridicule her for her croaking. She realizes that her habit of gossiping and talking about her classmates behind their back has kept them from befriending her.
The Tree Man
Rowena wishes that Henry Piper, a traveling salesman she is infatuated with, but only sees three times a year, will "set roots down in Coven Tree and never leave again!" The wish is fulfilled word-for-word: Henry's feet become literally rooted to the ground, and he gradually transforms into a sycamore tree. Rowena finds out that Henry never really liked her, but only pretended to so that her father would buy more of his items. She also develops a liking for the family's farmhand, Sam Waxman, who helps her throughout the situation with Henry.
Water, Water, Everywhere
Adam lives on a farm that requires water to be trucked in every few days, so he wishes for the farm to be covered in water as far as the eye can see. The next day, he is taught dowsing and finds the dowsing rod reacting at every turn. When he digs through the soil, a huge geyser shoots out which initially causes his parents to be joyful. But soon the waterspout grows out of control, flooding the entire farm.
Epilogue
Adam, Polly, and Rowena run to Stew Meat, asking him to fix their wishes, since he has the only other Wishing Card in Coven Tree. He accepts, and he grants all their wishes. Polly no longer says mean things about other people and thus never croaks again; Henry is restored to human form, but Rowena forgets him and dates Sam instead; Adam travels all around the world to dowse.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews described it as "another entertaining tale of magic and transformation." and "Brittain's knack for old-fashioned, funny-scary storytelling makes this another playfully atmospheric tale of strange doings in yesterday's New England."[2]
References
- ^ "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present". www.ala.org. American Library Association. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "The Wish Giver". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
