Goosebumps series: Be Careful What You Wish For

By R.L. Stine 1996 Click here to visit the Goosebumps Web site.
http://www.scholastic.com/goosebumps/
Recommend
Appeals to 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th grade
Samantha Byrd is the tallest girl, no make that the tallest kid in her 7th Grade class. Those long skinny arms and legs go everywhere and make Sam feel like a klutz. She is teased by one girl in particular, Judith. She is also picked on by Anna but that is because Anna is Judith’s best friend. Judith tells her to fly away like a ‘bird,’ calls her ‘stork,’ trips her in class, and tells her how terrible she is on the basketball team.

One cold, windy afternoon while Sam is riding her bike (mostly to escape the anger she feels from being teased) she meets a lady that seems neither old nor young but has hands that feel like ice. The lady is looking for a particular street and for the help she offers Sam three wishes. Sam’s first wish is that she be the strongest player on the basketball team. The next day, the girls on her team are weak while Sam still has her energy. She is no better at the game than before but she is definitely better than anyone else on the team. Two days after the wish the girls on the team are all sick with something like influenza. When Sam stops by to see Judith, the mean girl accuses her of being a witch who cast a spell.
Sam asks the magical lady to undo this wish.

The second wish Sam asks for Judith to disappear. The next morning when Sam wakes up, her brother, dad, and mom are not at home. Sam rides her bike to school only to find no one there either. She wonders how she will get dinner. When the magical lady reappears she tells Sam magic is not perfect.

Her third wish, Sam wants Judith to think she is the greatest person in the world. Judith is changed from a mean 7th grader to an adoring more-than best friend. Judith wears a sideways ponytail just like Sam’s. She wants to sit with Sam at lunch and gushes compliments. When Sam can’t take it anymore, she meets the magical lady again and asks to be turned into a bird. The wish is granted and Sam flies away.