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    Wishtree (Special Edition)
    Wishtree (Special Edition)
    Wishtree (Special Edition)
    Ebook146 pages1 hour

    Wishtree (Special Edition)

    By Katherine Applegate

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    A special edition for adults of Katherine Applegate's New York Times-bestselling novel about an oak tree and a crow who help their neighbors embrace their differences.

    Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . .

    Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood.

    When a new family moves in, not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experience as a wishtree is more important than ever. With a message of inclusion for dreamers and welcomers, this is a book for our lives and times.

    "A beautifully written, morally bracing story that will leave its imprint on a reader of any age." —The New York Times Book Review

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJan 8, 2019
    ISBN9781250246066
    Wishtree (Special Edition)
    Author

    Katherine Applegate

    Katherine Applegate is the Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young readers, including the One and Only series, the Endling series, Crenshaw, Wishtree, the Roscoe Riley Rules chapter books series, and the Animorphs series. She lives with her family in Nevada.

    Read more from Katherine Applegate

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    Reviews for Wishtree (Special Edition)

    4/5

    221 ratings19 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Did you know trees can talk? Red, the wishtree can. She has two hundred and sixteen rings worth of life experience and has carried over two hundred years worth of human wishes. Before her life is over, can Red help make one more wish come true?Written from the tree's perspective, author Katherine Applegate, crafts a tale of hope, love, and acceptance. See our world in a whole new light. WISHTREE will stay in your heart long after the last page. I recommend this book for the young and old.
    • 4/5
      Swoon...loved this one. It had such a creative premise taking a fun twist on the talking animals genre. Adults can also appreciate some of the detailed funny touches. I particularly smiled at this one:

      "Of course, there are exceptions to the name rule. Somewhere in Los Angeles there’s a palm tree who insists on being called Karma, but you know how Californians can be."

      The story also had a timely and important theme about inclusion and tolerance in a realistic way without feeling heavy-handed or preachy.
    • 5/5
      A great story told by the great oak tree about friendship, family and acceptance.
    • 5/5
      Delightful read-aloud about a wise old tree, the power of words, and the families we choose for ourselves. Katherine Applegate is my kids' new favorite author.David rating - 5/5Sophia rating - 5/5Mommy rating - 5/5
    • 5/5
      If this could give more then 5 stars for this book I would. One of the all time best children books I've ever read and I'm making sure to order many for stocking for Christmas this year!! The life of a Red Oak Tree told by the tree and his best friend Bongo the Crow!
    • 4/5
      This short MG fantasy packs a punch with a tale about prejudice, friendship, conservation, tradition, and community.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful, short novel about friendship, community, and acceptance. Wishtree is told from the perspective of Red, a red oak tree, who is 216 years old. For many years, every May 1st, people leave notes/wishes on Red's branches. Even as Red's end is near, Red strives to help 2 children, her neighbors, fulfill one last wish. They, in turn, help her. This story is timely, modern, and beautiful. It would make a great holiday gift!
    • 4/5
      Wishtree by Katherine Applegate is about Red. A tree, but not just any tree. Red is a Wishtree.This story wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but I found it to be imaginative and creative. I loved the characters, and the writing was simple but enticing. A great story of the differences of people around us and the feelings these differences can evoke. I feel all children should read this book.
    • 4/5
      Applegate weaves a sweet story of community - both plant, animal and human - in this story. Red is a wishtree who has seen 216 rings. She is home to all kinds of animal families and watches over two houses in the neighborhood. She's seen generations of immigrant families come to the neighborhood. However, when a new family moves in not everyone is welcoming and Red, facing being cut down, decides to take action. Touch, powerful, and Applegate weaves lots of learning (animal group names, tree information) and fancy into the narrative. I finished reading it and bought two copies for different elementary schoolers in my life.
    • 4/5
      A short sweet melancholic tale for younger readers, very similar in style to Applegate's The One and Only Ivan. As with Ivan and another book, Crenshaw, there's a dark issue driving the tale ad great emotional heart. The ending is as happy as it must be given the target audience.Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      A nice book to read with your children, but a little obvious and contrived for my tastes.

      It reads a lot like a story a grandmother would make up for her grandchildren - with a generational take on intolerance and hardship that feels detached from the actual experience of the disadvantaged, put through the lens of the advantaged in order to convey some progressive values. All of which is positive... but we're a culture becoming more accustomed to the disadvantaged speaking for themselves in a more authentic way.

      I love the illustrations (they push the book from a 3 to a 3.5 for me).
    • 4/5
      Kinda sappy, but this book grows on you. It leaves you with a well rooted tale of a busybody tree and the families (animal and human) that make up the neighborhood. Branch out and give it a try! Go for broak.

    • 4/5
      wow this was beautiful! sometimes moral stories can be somewhat dry for me, even when i was little i found 'em dry, but i loved this and cried TWICE.

      powerful writing. <3
    • 5/5
      Great book for adolescents about the desire and benefits of friends. A story told by a tree.
    • 4/5
      Red is a majestic red oak tree who has seen many seasons come and go. He is also the neighborhood 'wishtree' where people tie their wishes and aspirations to his branches. But when a Muslim family moves into the neighborhood, someone leaves a message of hate instead. This is a heartwarming story about the power of love and healing when a community comes together. It's sad that this book is so relevant today, but I'm grateful for authors who address this issue and tell an uplifting story with warmth and empathy, interspersed with humor. Definitely a good book for the entire family.
    • 5/5
      Wow! Such a sweet story of an optimistic tree and a child looking for a friend in a world sometimes separated by differences rather than relishing in developing connections through friendship. #middleschoolela #middlegradebooks #middleschool
    • 3/5
      It's personally a little too saccharine for my taste, but younger middle-readers can enjoy it.
    • 3/5
      I'm getting tired of belabored parables masquerading as middle-grade fiction.
    • 5/5
      What a heartwarming story told from a very unique perspective, a tree. This story put a smile and tears on my face.

    Book preview

    Wishtree (Special Edition) - Katherine Applegate

    1

    It’s hard to talk to trees. We’re not big on chitchat.

    That’s not to say we can’t do amazing things, things you’ll probably never do.

    Cradle downy owlets. Steady flimsy tree forts. Photosynthesize.

    But talk to people? Not so much.

    And just try to get a tree to tell a good joke.

    Trees do talk to some folks, the ones we know we can trust. We talk to daredevil squirrels. We talk to hardworking worms. We talk to flashy butterflies and bashful moths.

    Birds? They’re delightful. Frogs? Grumpy, but good-hearted. Snakes? Terrible gossips.

    Trees? Never met a tree I didn’t like.

    Well, okay. There’s that sycamore down at the corner. Yakkity-yakkity-yak, that one.

    So do we ever talk to people? Actually talk, that most people-y of people skills?

    Good question.

    Trees have a rather complicated relationship with people, after all. One minute you’re hugging us. The next minute you’re turning us into tables and tongue depressors.

    Perhaps you’re wondering why the fact that trees talk wasn’t covered in science class, during those Mother Nature Is Our Friend lessons.

    Don’t blame your teachers. They probably don’t know that trees can talk. Most people don’t.

    Nonetheless, if you find yourself standing near a particularly friendly-looking tree on a particularly lucky-feeling day, it can’t hurt to listen up.

    Trees can’t tell jokes.

    But we can certainly tell stories.

    And if all you hear is the whisper of leaves, don’t worry. Most trees are introverts at heart.

    2

    Name’s Red, by the way.

    Maybe we’ve met? Oak tree near the elementary school? Big, but not too? Sweet shade in the summer, fine color in the fall?

    I am proud to say that I’m a northern red oak, also known as Quercus rubra. Red oaks are one of the most common trees in North America. In my neighborhood alone, hundreds upon hundreds of us are weaving our roots into the soil like knitters on a mission.

    I have ridged, reddish-gray bark; leathery leaves with pointed lobes; stubborn, searching roots; and, if I do say so myself, the best fall color on the street. Red doesn’t begin to do me justice. Come October, I look like I’m ablaze. It’s a miracle the fire department doesn’t try to hose me down every autumn.

    You might be surprised to learn that all red oaks are named Red.

    Likewise, all sugar maples are called Sugar. All junipers are called Juniper. And all boojum trees are called Boojum.

    That’s how it is in tree world. We don’t need names to tell one another apart.

    Imagine a classroom where every child is named Melvin. Imagine the poor teacher trying to take attendance each morning.

    It’s a good thing trees don’t go to school.

    Of course, there are exceptions to the name rule. Somewhere in Los Angeles there’s a palm tree who insists on being called Karma, but you know how Californians can be.

    3

    My friends call me Red, and you can, too. But for a long time people in the neighborhood have called me the wishtree.

    There’s a reason for this, and it goes way back to when I wasn’t much more than a tiny seed with higher aspirations.

    Long story.

    Every year on the first day of May, people come from all over town to adorn me with scraps of paper, tags, bits of fabric, snippets of yarn, and the occasional gym sock. Each offering represents a dream, a desire, a longing.

    Whether draped, tossed, or tied with a bow: They’re all hopes for something better.

    Wishtrees have a long and honorable history, going back centuries. There are many in Ireland, where they are usually hawthorns or the occasional ash tree. But you can find wishtrees all over the world.

    For the most part, people are kind when they visit me. They seem to understand that a tight knot might keep me from growing the way I need to grow. They are gentle with my new leaves, careful with my exposed roots.

    After people write their hope on a rag or piece of paper, they tie it onto one of my branches. Usually they whisper the wish aloud.

    It’s traditional to wish on the first of May, but people stop by throughout the year.

    My, oh my, the things I have heard:

    I wish for a flying skateboard.

    I wish for a world without war.

    I wish for a week without clouds.

    I wish for the world’s biggest candy bar.

    I wish for an A on my geography test.

    I wish Ms. Gentorini weren’t so grumpy in the morning.

    I wish my gerbil could talk.

    I wish my dad could get

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