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Replies to post #108419 on Mike The Pike Productions Inc (MIKP)
$MIKP @barbaraoconnor 's Wish still in TOP 5 new york times bestsellers this week! Go Barbara! Go Charlie! Go Wishbone! Go @ArowanaOfficial !!! pic.twitter.com/uvzFR213yl
— Mike the Pike Entertainment (@MTPPRODS) August 2, 2023
Hey @MTPPRODS ! Check this out https://t.co/JYHnP0jY3E
— Barbara O'Connor (@barbaraoconnor) December 12, 2021
'Wish’: Joey Clarke Jr. To Adapt Barbara O’Connor’s New York Times Bestseller For The Screen
By Matt Grobar
EXCLUSIVE: Arowana Media Holdings’ Mike The Pike Entertainment has optioned Barbara O’Connor’s New York Times bestseller Wish, tapping Nicholl Fellowship recipient Joey Clarke Jr. to adapt it for the big screen.
The novel is about a girl who unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places, with the help of a friend, her loving aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams.
Its protagonist is 11-year-old Charlie Reese, who has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. When she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is, until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly, Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.
Former CAA agent Jon Levin (Marshall, Breadwinner) is producing the film adaptation with Mike The Pike Entertainment’s Rich Angell and Mark B. Newbauer.
“Our team fell in love with this story immediately. Barbara O’Connor is a truly talented storyteller who, in Wish, has created a cast of highly relatable characters against a deceptively simple backdrop,” said Newbauer. “The book explores tough situations with grace, charm, and humor, and it’s easy to see why this has been on a New York Times Top 10 list for quite some time now. We are thrilled with the opportunity to bring this high-spirited, emotionally potent tale to screen in what we feel can be a family classic for years to come.”
“Wish is a story that both children and adults are drawn to and love. It’s been such an honor that the book has won eight state children’s choice awards, which are nominated by adults and voted on by children,” added O’Connor. “It’s an honor to be a part of this great team.”
'Wish', by Barbara O'Connor -- keeping hope alive in difficult times (ages 9-12)
Children face difficult times throughout their lives -- fighting with good friends, losing an animal you love, conflict at home, struggles with schoolwork. Figuring out how to keep hope alive in the face of these difficulties is a crucial part of growing up.
Charlie faces a heap of trouble in Barbara O'Connor's book 'Wish', but each and every day she makes a wish. Through her stubborn, fiery personality (or maybe despite it?), she keeps hope that her life will get better. This was a perfect book to read at the end of this turbulent year -- I hope you find hope in its pages.
'WISH', N.Y. Times Bestseller
by Barbara O'Connor
Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese is sent to live with an aunt and uncle she's never met before when her family falls apart. Her father is in jail, and her mother won't get out of bed, so Charlie must stay with Aunt Bertha and Uncle Gus until her mother can get her "feet on the ground" again. Charlie feels forgotten, dumped in a small town far away from everything that she knows, while her sister gets to live with her best friend.
Charlie struggles with her "fiery red temper," with her anger, with her worries. Young readers will relate to these feelings--worrying that her mama won't get better, or feeling angry that everyone is ignoring her.
"What was I doing there on that porch with these people I didn't even know? I felt like I'd been tossed out on the side of the road like a sack of unwanted kittens."
Every day, Charlie makes a wish--she has a whole list of all the different ways to make a wish, "like seeing a white horse or blowing a dandelion." She never tells anyone what her wish is, but readers quickly realize it's to live with her family, to go home. But what do you do when your wish doesn't come true?
Things start to turn around when Charlie befriends a stray dog she names Wishbone.
"I knew what it felt like to be a stray, not having a home where somebody wanted you. And he was a fighter. Like me. That dog and I had a lot in common. I was suddenly overwhelmed with love for that skinny dog."
O'Connor skillfully develops this story, showing Charlie's struggle in her new home, the way she's so stubbornly focusing on what she doesn't have that she doesn't see the goodness of her new home. Instead of becoming sappy, this story resonates with poignant vulnerability and the power of friendship.
I especially love the way that Aunt Bertha focuses on Charlie's positive side, instead of quickly criticizing her. Her childhood stories give Charlie a sense of history and a sense that things will be okay, even if they're difficult now. Aunt Bertha reminds me of some of these lessons about helping students develop hope from the Greater Good Science Center -- especially telling stories of success, and keeping things light and positive:
"Helping our students cultivate hope might be one of the most important things we do for them. Not only will it help them get more A’s in the short-run; it’ll give them the confidence and creativity to reach their long-term goals in school and in life."
I want to send special thanks to Kirby Larson for recommending this book to me--she's so right that it quickly became one of my favorites this year. Share this with children who have loved reading realistic stories.
AI
