Wishtree— Summary & Analysis
by Katherine Applegate · published 2017 · 215 pages · Contemporary
A user-friendly study guide for Wishtree by Katherine Applegate (2017): a high-level plot summary, full chapter-by-chapter analysis, theme breakdowns, character profiles, and 30 essay questions designed for middle-school readers. Unlike a stock summary, sumsumsum.com adds a diction analysis drawn from Katherine Applegate’s actual text, and reading-difficulty guidance (Easy, 1/10) so students, teachers, and lifelong readers know what they are walking into.
“A 216-year-old red oak tree watches a neighborhood tear itself apart over a Muslim family — and decides to do something about it.”
Short Summary
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.
Detailed Summary
Red is a red oak tree who has stood in the same spot for 216 years. She has watched generations of families move into and out of the neighborhood. She has sheltered birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, and a particularly opinionated crow named Bongo. And every May first, on the annual Wishing Day, ...
Summary in the Author’s Writing Style
A retelling of Wishtree in Katherine Applegate’s style — so you can hear the language, not just the plot. This is a stylistic pastiche written by sumsumsum, not an excerpt from the book.
Trees can't tell jokes. But we can dream. My name is Red. That's not the name my mother gave me, because mothers don't name oak trees, they just drop us and hope. The people called me Red, on account of my leaves come fall, and I've been Red two hundred and sixteen years now. I have counted them. I…
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis
If you liked Wishtree, read next
Start with Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga — A Muslim girl navigating American belonging — same theme of cultural displacement, told from the child's perspective rather than a tree's. Then try Front Desk by Kelly Yang — An immigrant child facing prejudice while her family builds a life — same themes of belonging and resilience, different cultural context. Or pivot to Charlotte's Web by E.B. White — The gold standard for non-human narrators carrying moral weight — a spider's wisdom and sacrifice reshaped generations of readers.
More from Katherine Applegate and the scholars who study Applegate
Other works by Katherine Applegate: The One and Only Ivan (2012, 305 pages). Reading two or three of these in sequence reveals Katherine Applegate’s recurring obsessions and stylistic signatures more clearly than any single book can.