Book Review: Wishtree

Author Katherine Applegate gives voice to things that otherwise wouldn't. Her Newbery award winning "The One and Only Ivan" was a first person story from the perspective of a doomed silverback gorilla. In "Wishtree," she takes on an even more surprising point of view, that of a tree.

Red is a centuries old Red Oak that is more chatty than most trees. When two children living in the houses under its boughs are in trouble, he takes a risk and tells them a story to bring them together. It is against the rules, but that is the least of Red's worries. The owner of the houses is determined to cut down the old oak tree to keep its from further invading the plumbing and flooding the yards.

I liked the tree as a character, and the ensemble cast were terrific, from the skunks who name themselves after pleasant smells, the opossums who name themselves after things that scare them, to the crows that name themselves frequently after sounds they like. A very serious story is encapsulated within the romping substories that live within a centuries old tree.

Book Review: Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess

"Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess" by Shari Green captures the magic and frustration of childhood in a beautiful, multilayered story.  Macy has a fight with her best friend, a difficult project at school, and the threat of a for sale sign in front of her house. She is also deaf, but that isn't one of her problems, it's just a part of who she is.

I've often heard it said that when you take away one of the five senses, the others become more vibrant. Nearly every sense is engaged. Iris, the lady next door, wears orange and bakes cookies that contain messages. She and Macy communicate with notes in the shape of things they love. The language unfolds in verse, which gives it rhythm. 

The story isn't surprising, but it is a delightful journey. Macy and Iris develop a friendship that both of them need. Macy packs Iris's books and learns her stories, and finds a way to tell her own. The parallel of them, young and old, each facing a move they don't want, is like a warm embrace.