It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Hi everyone I hope you enjoy this review of

The Wish Giver (unabridged) by Bill Brittian

Literary Awards

Newbery Honor (1984), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Nominee (1985)

This long read chapter book is fiction/fantasy and fits in perfect to my semester challenge.  I need to report that I am not a fan of fantasy but this was a good read that I will recommend because of the larger than life events that occur in the lives of the Coventry Tree Community.

Plot

The Plot includes traveling circus sinister man who sells 4 wish cards to 3 children and one adult.  He is clear however that the wish the card holders ask for what they absolutely want because once they make a wish that wish will come true.  The turning point in this plot was for me, was at the very end of the book in the epilog when Stew Meat the butcher used his Wish Card to reverse the ill effects of the other 3 wishes that had gone horribly wrong.

The main characters in this fantasy story are Polly Kemp a young pessimistic girl who is lonesome, Rowena a love-struck teenager and Adam Fisk a young boy who wants to help the family farm survive.

Rowena uses her wish card to keep Henry the young salesman she is in love with rooted in Coven Tree.  The wish comes true just as Thaddaeus Blinn the wicked doer from the carnival said it would.  Only now Henry her love is planted firmly and literally in the ground and becomes a talking tree as he cannot move.  Of course, the wish is not fate and therefore Rowena quickly realizes he is not the man for her, yet something must be done to change him back into the walking talking manipulator he is.

Polly poor angry foul mouth Polly makes her wish at the same time as Rowena.  She holds her card, makes a wish for others to like her and for especially one girl to be her friend.  She quickly is granted her wish and finds that she is not able to speak her foul language anymore as a matter of fact her words are replaced with Jug-a-Rum and frog sound. When she is tempted to say something negative she is only able to say Jug-a-Rum.  She also discovers after getting to know the fancy hoity toity new girl that her old friends are her true friends.  She realizes that she enjoys playing with them in the woods with them rather than having tea and cookies in the afternoon the way the new girl does.

Last but now least is Adam Frisk who is a good son but he is growing tired of hauling water to the families dried up farm day after day.  So, he also uses his wish card and wishes that the farm has water and no more drought and Oh Boy did the farm get water.  The farm had 5 springs pop up from nowhere and just as quick they flooded the farm.  The family is forced out with everything in ruin.

The moral to the story here is be careful for what you wish for as the old saying goes, this is also the most important part of the story for me.  Again, I didn’t think I liked fantasy but I really enjoyed playing out the scenes in my mind and that is what kept me interested.  I personally would not like the story to continue is had a perfect ending as the narrator Stew Meat, closed by fixing the mess the children made in their wishing.

Setting

The setting of this story is in a small village like place.  Were many lived just outside of town.  The setting could be changed without changing the outcome, however, the feel of the folk lore would disappear so I would not change it.  The setting does not resonate with me and that is what helped me enjoy the fantasy of the book. I am not familiar with woods and farms side by side, I liked that detail of the dirt and the trees and paths that the children walked on.  I also like the detail of the friendships in the book.  If I could have a conversation with the author I would ask how he came up with the character traits of the children.

Theme

The theme of this book to me is to live and let live. Or better stated as I did above be careful for what you wish for it may not be what you really want.  This is a valuable lesson that we all need to learn.

I also read this past week,  Jesse Bear, What will you wear? By, Nancy White Carlstrom

This is a rhyming children’s board book. Jesse bear tells the readers what clothes he plans to wear. Jesse is pictured alone and with his family in an array of outfits that will bring smiles to young readers.

Alright everyone I’m looking forward to reading your posts as the week goes on.  I’ll post again for Wish List Wednesday!