The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by…

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (original 1983; edition 2019)

by Bill Brittain (Author)

Series: Coven Tree

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1,131	21	19,036	(3.65)	17
When a strange little man comes to the Coven Tree Church Social promising he can give people exactly what they ask for, three young believers-in-magic each make a wish that comes true in the most unexpected way.

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Member:	DrWoot88
Title:	The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree
Authors:	Bill Brittain (Author)
Info:	HarperCollins (2019), Edition: Reissue, 192 pages
Collections:	Your library
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The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain (1983)

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Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)

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. (

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Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Oct 18, 2024 |

"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. (

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LynneQuan | Sep 1, 2024 |

This book horrified me as a kid, and I still think about the tree roots scene. (

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AnonR | Aug 5, 2023 |

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. (

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electrascaife | Jan 5, 2021 |

00008710

lcslibrarian | Aug 13, 2020 |

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Jim (BookHive (www.bookhive.org))
Thaddeus Blinn has come to the village of Coven Tree to grant you your wish. Thaddeus Blinn is The Wish Giver . Enter his tent and pay only .50 cents for a wish. Then you will learn what happens when wishes come true! The book follows the wishes of three villagers: Polly Kemp, who says whatever she wants; Rowena Jervis, a young girl who is madly in love; and Adam Fiske, a boy who only wants his family's farm to have some water. It is a magical twist to the old adage: be careful for what you wish for, it might (will) come true! Once again, Bill Brittain entertains you with just enough alarming mayhem to draw you deep into the world of Coven Tree. Category: Fantasy; Scary. Grade Level: Intermediate (4th-6th grade). 1983, Harper & Row. Ages 9 to 12.

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Bill Brittain	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Glass, Andrew	Illustrator	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

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Coven Tree

Has as a teacher's guide

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree - Teacher Guide by Novel Units, Inc. by Novel Units

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Notable Lists

ALA 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999 (1999)

Library of Congress Children's Literature Center Children's Books (1983)

NCTE Books That Invite Talk, Wonder, and Play (1996)

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Canonical title

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree

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Coven Tree (New England, USA)

New England, USA

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Epigraph

Dedication

For Jim and Sue -- who make me proud

First words

Here in Coven Tree we're no strangers to magic.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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The Wish Giver

▾Book descriptions

When a strange little man comes to the Coven Tree Church Social promising he can give people exactly what they ask for, three young believers-in-magic each make a wish that comes true in the most unexpected way.

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The people of Coven Tree are no strangers to magic. In fact, the town's very name comes from a gnarled old tree where covens of witches used to gather. Even now, imps and fiends continue to appear, frightening the townfolk with their devilish pranks. Usually these creatures are easy to spot. They have a particular smell, or sound, or way of moving, that betrays their dark nature. But Thaddeus Blinn showed none of these signs when he came to Coven Tree. He was just a funny little man who drifted into town with a strange tale about being able to give people whatever they wished - for only fifty cents. There was nothing scary about him. At least, not until the wishing began.

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