Bill Brittain (1930–2011)

Author of The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree

15+ Works 1,643 Members 22 Reviews

About the Author

William E. "Bill" Brittain was born in Rochester, New York on December 16, 1930. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a teacher. He wrote two mystery serials from 1964 to 1983, as well as other stories, before moving on to children's books. His children's books include Devil's Donkey, show more Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders, Professor Popkin's Prodigious Polish, and The Fantastic Freshman. The Wish Giver was a Newbery Honor Book in 1984 and All the Money in the World won the 1982-1983 Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award and was adapted for an ABC-TV Saturday Special. He died on December 16, 2011 at the age of 81. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Bill Britain, Bill Brittain, Bill Brittian, William E. Brittain

Series

Coven Tree

The Ghosts of Parnell House

Works by Bill Brittain

Popular Recent

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (1983) 1,092 copies

Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders (1987) 102 copies

Shape-Changer (1750) 94 copies

Wings (1991) 69 copies

Who Knew There'd Be Ghosts? (1985) 68 copies

All the Money in the World (1979) 51 copies

Professor Popkin's Prodigious Polish: A Tale of Coven Tree (1969) 46 copies

Devil's Donkey (1981) 40 copies

The Ghost from Beneath the Sea (1980) 19 copies

The Fantastic Freshman: A Novel (1988) 18 copies

My Buddy, the King (1989) 14 copies

The Wizards and the Monster (1994) 13 copies

The Mystery of the Several Sevens (1994) 13 copies

Without a Map: Searching For Who You Are (Celebrate Reading!) (1993) 3 copies

Wish Giver: Novel-Ties Study Guide (2007) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Tar Heel Dead: Tales of Mystery and Mayhem from North Carolina (2005) — Contributor — 26 copies

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Legal name: Brittain, William E.
Birthdate: 1930-12-16
Date of death: 2011-12-16
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Rochester, New York, USA
Place of death: Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Places of residence: Hempstead, New York, USA
Lawrence, New York, USA
Education: State University of New York, Brockport
Hofstra University
Short biography: His full name is William E. 'Bill' Brittain

Members

Reviews

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain

This book horrified me as a kid, and I still think about the tree roots scene.

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AnonR | 18 other reviews | Aug 5, 2023 |

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain

A strange man comes to town for the annual fair, claiming to be able to grant wishes for fifty cents apiece. He sells four wishes, one each to four townspeople, then promptly disappears. The story of each person and their wish is told separately, but by the end they're all nicely entwined.
A fun version of the Foolish Wish trope, but nothing earth-shattering here.

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electrascaife | 18 other reviews | Jan 5, 2021 |

The wish giver : three tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain, 1930-

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lcslibrarian | 18 other reviews | Aug 13, 2020 |

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain

This was a cute, kid friendly retelling of "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. The wishes were less gruesome, but still traumatic to the adolescents that were experiencing them. Some of them were actually quite comical. I could definitely see the kid appeal.

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jguidry | 18 other reviews | Aug 2, 2020 |

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