Reviews - The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree

42 reviews for:

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree

Bill Brittain

3.6 AVERAGE

pennyd2002's review against another edition

3.0

this is a good kids' book. I read it with my 8 year old.

shakespearesgirl's review against another edition

4.0

I read this book years ago, back when I was in the fourth grade, and I remember being terrified and enthralled by it. Even the cover art seemed sinister to me, with the grinning face of Thaddeus Blinn taking front and center. It . . . doesn't hold up as scary, or even mildly sinister, but it was still engaging and well written.

Something about the writing style of this particular book reminded me of Robert Peck, although I don't know if that's a fair comparison as I haven't read any Robert Peck in quite some time. But the quaint rural setting, the colorful characters, and the adult narrator are all elements Peck has used before. I quite enjoyed the fable-esque feel to the stories, and the way everything resolved before the three main characters remembered Stew Meat and went to him for help. I thought that element of, "Well, we'll find a way to live with this, even if it's horrible" was a great touch, and a nice reminder to readers that sometimes the bad circumstance can't be avoided and you just have to make the best of things.

I'm definitely glad I read this book again, even if it's not exactly classic children's literature. I did love it a lot when I read it the first time, even if it did scare the pants off me, and it's nice to know I can pass it along to my own kids when and if I have any.

sunny_reader_girl's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars. Reading for 4th grade girls book club - folk tale month!

phubbard's review against another edition

If you saw me log this for my reading challenge no you didn’t. It was actually good okay. Thank you to fifth grade for letting me borrow

bobkat's review against another edition

4.0

Simultaneously repulsively creepy and deliciously hauntingly, the three morality tales are literalizations of the adage "be careful what you wish for". The story of the girl who wishes for her beau to plant roots and stay on her farm in particular sucked me in. The illustrations are perfect for the stories. I never want to read this book again.

mdj_131's review against another edition

3.0

I remember reading this book as a kid and as an adult I couldn't remember the title. I knew it had giver in the title and had an old man in it. All my Google searches kept getting The Giver, but that wasn't right. Then one day I saw this book at the library and instantly knew it was the book I read as a kid because of the drawings. I'm glad I finally found this book. A fun read from my childhood.

mike_morse's review against another edition

3.0

This is a fable, based on the "Be careful what you wish for" adage. In this case, the wishes are granted very literally, causing all kinds of problems. OK, it's a kids book Mary had lying around and I had an hour with nothing to do. Still, it was enjoyable. It was predictable, but only because I had heard the same story so many times. So, I tried to imagine I was hearing it for the very first time, pretended I was 10 years old, and just went along for the ride. Fun!