The Wishing Tree demonstrates many of the elements of narrative skill that a reader finds in Faulkner's adult novels.

It contains a broad range of characters from a wide social spectrum. Structured around the adventures of these central characters, The Wishing Tree is an entertaining fantasy in which adult understandings are translated into the language of the child. Although the plot of the story seems relatively static, the dramatic crisis occurs when Dulcie is separated from her companions and returns to her real-life birthday. At this point the story becomes entirely realistic, for the knowledge of human frailty and death gained from the journey must be put to use in real life.