Wishtree

Katherine Applegate gives this story a narrator with rings, roots, and a long memory: Red, an old oak tree known in the neighborhood for holding the wishes people tie to its branches. When a new family arrives and suspicion begins creeping where welcome should have been, the tree and its animal companions become quiet witnesses to the best and worst instincts of the people nearby. Gentle without being flimsy, it is a children’s novel about kindness, belonging, and the kind of courage that often begins with simply making room for one another.