The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree

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.

A strange man comes to town for the annual fair, claiming to be able to grant wishes for fifty cents apiece. He sells four wishes, one each to four townspeople, then promptly disappears. The story of each person and their wish is told separately, but by the end they're all nicely entwined.
A fun version of the Foolish Wish trope, but nothing earth-shattering here.

"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.

This is a story about three children who purchase a wish for fifty cents. I would love to use this in a middle school class, discussing how we often don't know what good things to ask for. The theme carries some significant theological implications (although the book isn't a bit religious). A related theme can be found in ...and Now Miguel. Works very well as a read aloud-- the story flows well, and the book allows for a number of excellent discussions about dynamic characters, appearance and reality, true friendship, and of course, wishes.

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 show more 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. show less

This was a cute, kid friendly retelling of "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. The wishes were less gruesome, but still traumatic to the adolescents that were experiencing them. Some of them were actually quite comical. I could definitely see the kid appeal.

A simple story from a largely forgotten time in the U.S., when traveling carnivals were more common and a “big deal” when they did come into town. I thought it was cute and very appropriate for reader’s 8-10 ish (or so). I didn’t realize there was a book before this one, the Devil’s Donkey…but since I’ve decided not to trade The Wish Giver away (keeping it for the kids to read when they wan to), I’ll probably be getting this one too. The book is written in a chapter style where each chapter is kind of a short story all on it’s own, but the stories all fit together to tell a larger tale in the end. Cute, easy read…and I’d recommend it for kids (though the meaning of the whole thing is rather transparent…be careful show more what you wish for). show less