My dear friend Meghan is an incredible mom of three girls–two twins and a baby… She started a Wish Stealers book club at her daughters’ school.  They made a giant Wish Stealers cookie to launch the book club…23 girls signed up and they talked about nasty Samantha Sloane from the book and why Samantha acts the way she does..Meghan said it was a great way for all the girls to talk about their feelings and what qualities make for a true friend…

The beloved book store, Yellow Book Road, in La Mesa, CA hosted me for an author visit.  I spoke to three classes of students who not only asked challenging questions but who also had some brave volunteers who acted on scenes from The Wish Stealers!  Yellow Book Road has chosen The Wish Stealers as summer book club book….

Middle Readers SUMMER BOOK CLUB

We now have a name!  The Yellow Bookworms! The club is for ages 9-12, meeting every other TUESDAY at NOON beginning June 29.  Our first book is The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas.  Be sure to bring your brown bag lunch.

Fantastic independent book store in Arizona chose The Wish Stealers for their summer reads book club…25 kids from 4th-8th grade all read the book and discussed it before calling me for a group conference call…they asked me why I wrote the book and who my favorite character was…

Check it out:

BOOK SUMMARY

Griffin Penshine is always making wishes.  But when a sinister old woman, Mariah Weatherby Schmidt, tricks Griffin into accepting a box of eleven shiny Indian Head pennies from 1897, Griffin soon learns these are no ordinary pennies, but stolen wishes.  This box of labeled pennies comes with a horrible curse: anybody in possession of the stolen coins is a Wish Stealer, who will never have their wishes come true…in fact, only their evil wishes can come true.  Wish Stealers make people ashamed for trying, eat up people’s courage, and stomp on their enthusiasm.  Griffin must find a way to return these stolen wishes and undo the curse.

But how can Griffin return wishes to strangers who might not even be alive?  Griffin sets out on a desperate quest to right Mariah’s terrible wrongs.  At first her journey leads her to the ancient alchemists, Macbeth’s witches, and the chance to do some good beyond her imaginings.

But the temptation of the Wish Stealers dark and compelling power is growing stronger.

Can Griffin reverse the curse in time to save herself and the people she loves?

A REVIEW FROM THE ONWER OF THE SAN ANTONIO BOOK REVIEW:

If you’ve just about given up on finding books for your “tweenage” daughter that feature strong and capable female protagonists, check out:
The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas

The heroine of this book is a plucky sixth grade girl named Griffin Penshine who loves to make wishes every chance she gets.  Her story starts when an evil old woman tricks her into accepting a box of shiny Indian Head pennies that correspond to people’s wishes stolen out of fountains over the course of several decades.  Duped into becoming a Wish Stealer, she races to fulfill the stolen wishes as best she can, because if she doesn’t, her good wishes will never come true again.  It’s a cute book with an eminently likable protagonist: Griffin is artistically and musically inclined, has a strong and loving relationship with her family, and starts a “save the earth” charity as a school project.  Side effects may include approving of your child’s choice of reading material, a marked increase in the number of wishes made on loose change, and fielding questions from your daughter about Shakespeare, philanthropy, and vegetarianism.

http://biblio-voracious.blogspot.com/2010/02/bibliovorx-in-which-i-cure-what-ails.htm

FROM THE BLOG: Where The Best Books Are! – http://wherethebestbooksare.blogspot.com/

This story sparkles from start to finish — the perfect pick-me-up for any reader who’s ever thrown a wish to the wind. Every chapter ends with an inspirational quote about believing in yourself and not letting others trounce on your dreams, either from a famous thinker or the author, including some I’m sure to borrow.

My favorites, “Stuff your ears with clouds,” (Grandma Penshine’s advice if someone tries to pull you down with negativity), and philosopher Joseph Campbell’s “Follow your bliss.”

Consider sending this gem to your favorite middle-grade reader, along with a box of 11 shiny pennies she can label and give away, as well as a few good luck charms similar to those given to Griffin by her grandmother, a shiny river rock, a ring with a faux blue gem and one lucky penny of her own.

Then check out these great websites: www.penniesfortheplanet.org and www.worldwishproject.com and help turn wishes into gold.

A review by CPA MOM BLOG:

CPA MOM BLOG REVIEW:

My take: If I had to sum up this book in one word, I would use ‘riveting.’ Absolutely riveting and I’m not even the target audience (it’s been many years since I was 8 – 12 years old!). I took this book with me to a recent blood drive as I knew I’d have a wait(just didn’t realize how much of a wait!) and let me tell you, the two hours it took me to read The Wish Stealers just flew by. In fact, my husband asked me why I waited that long and I truthfully answered him that I hadn’t realized it had been two hours – the book was that good. Griffin is a compelling protagonist who I could really relate to – the “Queen Bees” she has to deal with in school are a lot like the bullies I dealt with in school – though she ends up treating them better than I would have given the chance! I love the underlying themes in the book of being true to yourself, choosing good (making good choices like I’m always telling my kiddos), friendship and love (for self and others). I’m saving this one to read over and over for my kids to read in a few years.  http://cpamomva.blogspot.com/2010/01/wish-stealers.html

From: 5 Minutes for Mom–bringing moms together!

January 25, 2010

5 Minutes for Books: The Wish Stealers

http://www.5minutesformom.com/  By Jennifer

“Looking up at the night sky always held the allure of possibility for me as a child. The possibility of a secret wish granted simply in exchange for a softly whispered “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight…” rhyme. The magic of it lasted well past my young childhood, and I can’t deny trying it once or twice as an adult either. (You never know.) With these memories in mind, I approached the new middle grade novel The Wish Stealerswith a smile on my face.

In Tracy Trivas’ first children’s novel, we encounter a world in which wishes are truly powerful, and it isn’t always a lucky thing. Griffin Penshine (really, the perfect name for this cute character) has a penchant for making wishes, and when she finds herself suddenly in possession of a “lucky penny” given by an old woman at a local shop she hopes for some good luck as her first day of sixth grade is approaching soon. However, when she discovers the package contains eleven shiny pennies that actually represent stolen wishes, her luck quickly turns sour. Her fortune rests upon her ability to reverse the curse placed on her with this “gift,” and she’s got her work cut out for her. Add to that the regular social challenges of middle school, innocent adolescent crushes, and school projects all vying for her attention, as well. In the end, can she reverse her own fortune, possibly even spreading some good luck to others as well?

If I could go back in time, I would bring this book back to my own 9-year-old self, because I’m confident this is the exact kind of story I was drawn to–a spunky and unique main character, a fun writing style, and an imaginative conflict that, of course, gets wrapped up with a bow by the end of the story. My own nine year old son read this book (in a morning!), and came away with a huge smile on his face and a declaration of “that was so cool!”

In conjunction with the release of The Wish Stealers, publisher Simon and Schuster is also working with Pennies for the Planet, “a successful nationwide campaign to help critical conservation projects, powered by kids collecting pennies (and nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars, too!) to help save wild places and wildlife in the United States. Working in classrooms, clubs, Scout troops, other groups, with their families, and on their own, kids have turned pennies into a gold mine for wild spaces and wild species needing protection,” according to the media release.

FROM BLOGGING MAMA:

The Wish Stealers: Book Review and Giveaway

Today I’m doing a review of the young adult book Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas which is published by Aladdin.  I decided since this book was geared towards 8-12 year olds, that Thor and I would read it together.  Our decision on the book was unanimous: we really, really liked it.

The story begins with Griffin Penshine, a rather sweet girl who believes in making wishes.  She wishes for all sorts of things to come true like for her mom to have a baby girl and for her new school to smell like chocolate chip cookies.  But one day in an dusty shop an old woman gives her a mysterious gift of eleven pennies.  What Griffin comes to realize is that each penny she now owns was once a wish that was stolen.

The only way to undo the stolen wishes is to try to return the wishes to someone else.  Until Griffin can return the pennies all her own wishes become the opposite of what she wished for.  Griffin must figure how to return the stolen wishes in order to make her own wishes come true.  But can she make it happen before it’s too late?

This story is full of creative fun and imagination.  The idea that throwing a penny into a fountain to make a wish come true is easy for children to relate to.  Griffin’s own wishes seem to pale in comparision when she comes face to face with the enormity of what not returning the stolen wishes could mean for her own family.  Her character is believable and genuine as she deals with the idea that she must undo wrongs done in the past.  She learns a lot about what really matters to her, family and friends and what really doesn’t, being popular and selfish.

Another detail that made this book so believable was that it features an actual charity aimed at collecting pennies.  Pennies for the Planet is a charity that collects pennies to save conservation lands.  In the book Wish StealersGriffin teams up with her science partner Garrett to create a fundraiser for Pennies for the Planet.  You can join in by clicking the link to learn more about starting a fundraiser in your area to collect pennies to help save the planet. Everyone has some spare change and even a little bit can make a big difference!

Thor and I really enjoyed the book.  As he says “It was really, really good.”  The book is available for sale now at retailers.  As an extra bonus I’m going to give away five copies and all you have to do is tell me that you’d like to win one in the comments.  The giveaway will end Tuesday at 11:59 pm eastern time.  Good luck!

Have you ever thrown a  penny in a fountain and made a wish?  Did your wish come true?www.bloggingmama-andrea.blogspot.com