Red and the animals worry about their futures, and the opossum, skunk, and raccoon mothers start to fight about other possible homes in the neighborhood.īongo thinks Red should find a way to save itself, but Red decides it will take action for the first time to grant Samar’s wish and help her become friends with Stephen. Between the carving and Red’s roots and leaves, Francesca thinks it would be easier just to cut Red down. Police officers Sandy and Max arrive to speak to Francesca, who lives across the street and owns the houses and Red. Red only learns what it means when a passing woman is shocked. One night, she ties a wish for a friend to Red’s branches.Ī few days later, a lanky young man carves “LEAVE” into Red’s trunk. Samar’s Muslim family is not accepted by the neighborhood so she has no friends, not even Stephen, the boy who lives next door.

Red stands in the yard of a blue and a green house, and the animals share their community with a young girl named Samar who lives there. Though they fight about the crowded conditions, they find ways to get along.

Red hosts the crow Bongo and several families of animals. Trees and animals must not talk to humans for their own safety, so Red takes its responsibility as a bearer of hopes seriously. The narrator introduces itself as Red, a 200-year-old oak tree who acts as the neighborhood wishtree: every May first, people write down their wishes and hang them in Red’s branches.

The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Applegate, Katherine.

The wish tree applegate