Discuss the significance of Wishtree's dedication and epigraph.

Katherine Applegate dedicates the book to "newcomers and for welcomers” and in this way, she creates an environment of comfort and warmth in the opening pages of the novel. As an epigraph, Applegate opens with a poem by Mary Carolyn Davies entitled, “Be Different to Trees.” It describes the wisdom of trees, which can only be heard by those who listen closely and pay attention.