At a Glance
Red, a 216-year-old red oak tree, has served as the neighborhood wishtree for generations — every May, people tie cloth wishes to her branches. When a new Muslim family moves in next door and someone carves the word 'LEAVE' into Red's trunk, Red breaks her lifelong silence to bring the community together and protect a ten-year-old girl named Samar, who has wished on Red's branches for just one friend.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
Wishtree became one of the most widely used books in American elementary and middle school classrooms for teaching about prejudice, empathy, and community response to hate. Its non-human narrator made it uniquely accessible for young readers encountering these themes for the first time, while its literary quality earned it respect among educators and critics. The novel demonstrated that middle-grade fiction could address Islamophobia specifically — naming the prejudice rather than generalizing it — without overwhelming its audience.
Diction Profile
Accessible and warm — written at a middle-grade level with lyrical flourishes that elevate the prose beyond simple children's fiction without making it inaccessible
Moderate