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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Is Wishapick Actually a Great Children’s Fantasy Novel?

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

Wishapick is a new children's fantasy novel with accompanying musical soundtrack. Two children hold the key to changing the fate of a world. via @chautonahavig

I’ll never my first foray into fantasy. I was seven and my beloved teacher who wasn’t even five feet tall let out a lion’s roar that far outdid Aslan in the Narnia movie. It was many years before I read the rest of the series–an adult, actually.  C.S. Lewis said it best when he said, “…sometimes fairy stories say best what needs to be said.”

So when I had the chance to read and review a children’s fantasy novel, I had to jump at it.

Wishapick

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Is Wishapick Actually a Great Children’s Fantasy Novel?

No one wanted to love this book more than I did. The idea of a trunk as a portal to another world–one ruled by a monarch who keeps everything in darkness to shut out the true Light?  A sort of blend of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Alice through the Looking Glass… what’s not to love?

Hailed by reviewers as a delightful, powerful children’s book, Wishapick takes you on a journey into another world–to do battle for good against evil. Two children sent there to break an awful spell over the land by appealing to the true King.

The nuances of the imagery are both on-the-nose and obscure, which I think might help readers who have a strong grasp of the abstract to enjoy the book more while offering children who aren’t yet ready for those concepts a picture of what is going on as well.

I just wish I personally liked it more.

So many elements felt too parallel to both Narnia and Wonderland, that it didn’t feel as fresh and new as I’d hoped. Instead, I found myself struggling not to compare it to those and similar works.  When Lilly meets Mr. Tumalum just after arriving in Wishapick, well… It felt like a combination of Mr. Tumnus and Mr. Beaver.  The evil king.  Darkness all the time–never light (winter never spring?).

Yes, there were original bits, of course, but all in all, I’m sure there is a perfect audience for the book, but as much as I usually adore most fantasy, this one wasn’t for me.

Recommended for lovers of fantasy, voracious readers who love to draw parallels between books, and readers who enjoy an immersive experience in reading.  The author has teamed up with a musician and created music (click for a sample) to go with it. And remember.  Most readers seem to love it, so it may just be me.

Will it be the next great children’s fantasy novel?  I’d say that’s up to you.

WishapickAbout the Book

Book:  Wishapick

Author: Mary Martha Allen & Deborah Wynne

Genre: Middle-grade fantasy/fairy tale

Release date: September 2015

Darkness. Utter blackness. Was this why his mother had refused to let Jack unlock his father’s old trunk? It had been two years since his dad had died, and all Jack could think about was examining whatever treasures were stored inside the beloved trunk. But when he finally lifted the lid, he didn’t just fall in—he fell through it into a pit of rattlesnakes!

Trying to recall his mother’s stories about “the Breath of All Good Things”—anything to shed light on his current situation—Jack wishes he’d paid better attention rather than mock the tales as childish myths…and that he’d waited to enter the trunk with his sister, Lilly, so they could at least face this together.

Like L. Frank Baum’s Oz and C. S. Lewis’s Narnia, M. M. Allen brings to life the fantastical world of Wishapick—a land of courageous animals ruled by a cruel rattlesnake king who has condemned the villagers to live without light. Chosen as the reluctant hero to save the villagers, Jack must face terrifying creatures and overwhelming odds if he wants to help his new friends—and return home himself.

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Comments

  1. Emma says

    May 4, 2021 at 9:47 pm

    This sounds interesting–I wonder what other fantasy lovers think of it?

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      May 7, 2021 at 5:16 pm

      I was the only one who didn’t seem to. Check out the other reviews!

      Reply
  2. megan allen says

    May 4, 2021 at 8:22 am

    Thank you so much for sharing your review!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

Hey, we’re back after a couple of weeks of vacation, and boy did I need it. And, have I got a fabulous interview for you. Nancy Naigle and I talked about her books, her most recent release, What Remains True as well as her Christmas books and the one I’m most anxious to read, The Shell Collector. Listen in and learn about what Nancy says about this bet she has going on in What Remains True. Great stuff!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Need a Great Romantic Read to Wind Up Your Summer Reads?

As I said in the podcast, a while back, someone told me I’d LOVE The Shell Collector–one of those people who recommends books you HAVE to read if they say you do.  So I bought it and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. Well, now it’s on my GoodReads shelf, and I’m about to start it (and I optimistically thought I’d be done with it by the time this episode released. Oh, me of too much faith in myself and my time management!)

Author of over thirty books, not to mention a bestselling author who also has movies made of her novels (And The Shell Collector has been optioned! EEEP!), Nancy loves to write Christmas books and small-town stories. Seriously, as we talked, I felt like she was talking about me half the time. We’re so very alike in so many ways. It was fun.

Nancy also pointed out that her first books (if you go WAY back) are not Christian fiction and are a bit spicier than she prefers to write and definitely more than she writes today. So be warned there, but she did assure us that they are all closed-door books.

What Remains True by Nancy Naigle

One woman wants to win a bet. One man wants to become a rodeo champion. One little girl may give them both something even better—from USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle.

“A commitment-phobic rodeo star and a divorcée with secrets find love in this wholesome romance. . . . As uplifting as it is sweet.”—Publishers Weekly

Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek?

Adam Locklear, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care.

Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan too?

You can learn more about Nancy’s books and movies on her WEBSITE.

Oh, and PSST… I’m loving the audiobook of this one!

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Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
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