The newest family to reside in Red’s neighborhood are Muslim, and 10-year-old Samar visits the tree nightly and forms an unspoken bond with the tree and the animals. Together they philosophize, while also honoring the rule of not talking to people. Red is a “wishtree.” Each year, on the first day of May, people come to tie wishes onto his limbs using rags, ribbons, paper, and even “the occasional gym sock.” He is also home to many neighborhood animals, including owlets, possums, raccoons, skunks, and his best friend Bongo the Crow. “Trees can’t tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. Written by the award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate, Wishtree is an inspiring tale of kindness and tolerance told from the perspective of a wise, old red oak tree (216 rings old). What to expect: Kindness, Friendship, Hope, Tolerance, Nature An active approach to real-life issues will ensure that individuals don’t fall victim to thinking people make up or exaggerate pressing issues like fairy tales.The Children’s Book Review | FebruWishtree She therefore has different characters emphasize the reality of the story in order to ground it gently in real American cultural, historical, and political context-and to enjoin her reader to apply its lessons to real life. And Applegate’s message about loving and accepting cultural difference is an unabashedly political one, and an intervention against the increasing cultural and racial polarization of contemporary American life. Samar’s struggle with Islamophobic harassment is something very real and pressing-not at all fairy tale fodder. Applegate wishes for the story to function not as fantasy but as a parable of contemporary American issues.
Applegate’s repeated assertion, then, may seem tongue-in-cheek, but it is also apt. It’s a fair assertion, as she populates the story with talking animals. Applegate reminds her young audience throughout the narrative that this story is not a fairy tale.
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