Product Description

1984 Newbery Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1983 (ALA)
1983 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
Best Books of 1983 (SLJ)
Notable 1983 Childrens' Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
1983 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)

Children's Books of 1983 (Library of Congress)
Books for Vacation Reading (NYT)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363919 in Books
• Published on: 1986-04-18
• Released on: 1986-04-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780064401685
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

About the Author
Bill Brittain's tales of the rural New England village of Coven Tree are well loved by children of all ages. The Wish Giver was a Newbery Honor Book; it and Devil's Donkey were both named ALA Notabled Children's Books as well as School Library Journal Best Books. Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders was a 1988 Children's Editors' Choice (ALA Booklist), and Professor Popkin's Prodigious Polish was named a "Pick of the Lists" by American Bookseller.

Mr. Brittain has written many other delightful books, which have also received high acclaim. Among these are All the Money in the World, which won the 1982-1983 Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award and which has been adapted for an ABC-TV Saturday Special; and The Fantastic Freshman, which was named an ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Bill Brittain lives with his wife, Ginny, in Asheville, North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

"I want my child to be a lawyer when he grows up..."
"...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.

A Magical and Mysterious Book!
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.

Be careful what you wish for, it might come true
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.