Wishtree

Hover over the image to make a wish.

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Katherine Applegate

Applegate, the 2013 Newbery Medal winner for The One and Only Ivan, writes children's fiction and young adult novels. Her genres include picture books, science fiction, fantasy and adventure novels. She has written seven series including Animorphs, Remnants, and Everworld.

Applegate's humor is wise enough to draw out knowing smiles from adults, but kind enough to create a welcoming world for children.

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World Context

Wishtree is a funny, sweet chapter book and makes for a thoughtful read aloud. There are many metaphors found in this gentle story of a tree -- a few include

• breaking the silence in the face of unkindness or racism
• building community - especially when you cannot eat your neighbors!
• friends helping each other.

"Being a home to others isn't always easy. Sometimes I feel like an apartment complex with too many residents. Residents who don't always get along. Still we make it work. There's a lot of give-and-take in nature. Woodpeckers hammer at my trunk, but they also eat annoying pests. Grass cools the earth, but it also bickers with me over water... And certainly, there've been some disagreements. But I've made it clear that eating your neighbors will not be allowed while I'm in charge."

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Synopsis

Red, an oak tree, is the neighborhood wish tree and has seen or heard it all in more than a hundred years. Until someone carves an unkind word into her bark aimed at the new immigrants in the homes she shades, Red has been the silent, observant type through it all. But, then she breaks the "don't talk to people" rule to help two children continue their friendship and to erase the ugliness on her bark.

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Learning Connections

Trees
Immigration
Community
Friendship

Ages: 8- 12; Grades: 2nd - 6th; 211 pages. Red oak tree helps the neighborhood to get along.