Like the Willow Tree by Newbery award-winning author Lois Lowry is set in 1918, in the midst of the Spanish Flu epidemic. It follows Lydia Amelia Pierce, an eleven-year-old girl living in Portland, Maine. The Spanish Influenza epidemic was, in some ways, similar to the worldwide pandemic in which we are now living. People were dying, and it seemed as though the world would never be the same again. The epidemic began in February, 1918, and was not at its close until April, 1920, exactly one hundred years before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the earth. Although there were some similarities between the effects of the Coronavirus, and the Spanish Flu, there were also many differences. For example, one hundred years ago, the medical field was significantly smaller than it is now, and the nurses and doctors had less to go on in their search for a cure. There was no CNN or ABC news that told people the latest news about the pandemic. There were newspapers, of course, but still, people were less informed about what was going on in the rest of the country. Like the Willow Tree was originally published as part of the Dear America series, a series about children growing up in important times in American history, such as the Spanish Influenza. The books are written in the form of journal entries, instead of regular prose. You can see the slowly rising effect of the illness through her entries, starting with her not being able to go to the movie theater for her birthday, to the devastating entry telling that she is orphaned, and the only family she has left is her elder brother, Danial. Lydia’s uncle takes Lydia and Danial in, but he has a family of his own, and he can’t care for them for long. So Lydia and Danial, are sent to the Society of Shakers at SabbathDay Lake. The Shakers are a religious group of people, with strict beliefs, and ways of life. At first, Lydia hates them. She misses her family, and her old life, and she dislikes some of the Shaker’s ways. The Shakers won’t allow her to talk to Danial, her only living family, because they believe that the girls and the boys should be kept separate. Lydia worries for Daniel, he seems unhappy, and she is worried that he will try and run away, to join the army, as he once talked of doing. Lydia has trials and hardships throughout her months of life at the shaker village, but she slowly learns to love their way of life, the last few sentences of her final journal entry, written after Easter Sunday supper as Sabbathday Lake, reads: “I took it all in, thinking of everything that had brought me here—the sadness, the losses, the fear, the loneliness, and even the things that had left me shaking with anger. All of that was part of me, the me I had once been. But most of me now was at peace.” I enjoyed Like the Willow Tree as a book, of course, but it was especially intriguing because the main character was experiencing the same, once-in-a-lifetime thing as I was right then. The Spanish Flu pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic are very different, but during both, people had to isolate themselves while scientists searched madly for a cure. At one point, Lydia says that “the world will never be the same again,” and although the world was different from the Influenza, people lived lives without having to worry about contracting it wherever they went. This can be something hopeful to think about right now, as we creep closer to the end of the COVID pandemic, and farther away from the beginning. As I said, Like the Willow Tree was first published as part of the Dear America series, but in September, 2020, author Lois Lowry had the book republished with a new introduction written by the author. I would recommend Like the Willow Tree to anyone about 8 and up. There are some themes of death, given the setting, but overall, it was a wonderful read, and gave a good view of life during the Spanish Flu pandemic, and the Shaker community at SabbathDay Lake. Like the Willow Tree by Lois Lowry. Scholastic, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Betsy-Tacy, Reviewed by Nora, 12
“It was difficult, later, to think of a time when Betsy and Tacy had not been friends,” begins the first section in Maud Hart Lovelace’s book, Betsy-Tacy. Elizabeth Ray (Betsy) and Anastasia Kelly, (Tacy) had been friends ever since Betsy’s fifth birthday party. Since that day, they were inseparable. They had picnics on top of the hill at the end of their street, they made a clubhouse in an old piano box behind Betsy’s house, they made a sand store, selling bottles filled with different colored sands. They did everything together. Then, the Mullers move into the neighborhood. Thelma (Tib) Muller is just the same age as Betsy and Tacy, and the three become fast friends. Betsy and Tacy are fascinated by Tib. She is little, and dainty, she lives in a chocolate-colored house with a pane of colored glass over the window. And she is from a far-away place called Milwaukee. Although some think that the three will not get along as well as just Betsy and Tacy had, they do. They never quarrel with each other, although they do often quarrel with Julia and Katie, Betsy’s and Tacy’s elder sisters. While the three girls are as close as could be, they do not exclude the other girls in their little town of Deep Valley. Other characters flit in and out of the series, such as Winona Root, Caroline Sibley, as well as Betsy’s two sisters, Julia and Margaret. As the series progresses, following the girls through grade school, high school, and beyond, they focus more on Betsy. But it would be impossible to have a book about Betsy that did not include Tacy and Tib, although as the three get older, Betsy is put more in the spotlight than the other two. As Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries writes, “Slipping into a Betsy book is like slipping into a well-worn pair of slippers.” Although the plots are smaller, and less exciting than some popular adventure books, the Betsy books hold a charm within their pages that speak of real life, and real joys and sorrows in a girl’s life at the turn of the century. Although at the beginning, the girls are only five years old, it is worth reading the series from the beginning, even if you think that books about five-year-old girls are too young for you. At thirteen, I enjoy them just as much as I did at seven. And as the girls grow older, the books become better and better, although they are more mature than the first few. The books speak even more strongly of the truth because a lot of the events in the books are autobiographical. Betsy is based very closely on Maud Hart Lovelace herself, while Tacy and Tib are based off of Maud’s real best friends, Bick (Tacy) and Midge (Tib). And these truthful elements make this coming-of-age series set at the turn of the century is one to be re-read and treasured for years to come. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace. HarperCollins, 1940. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
The Book of Three, Reviewed by Nora, 12
Have you ever met a pig? Maybe you have. Have you ever met a pig that can see the future? The answer is almost definitely a no. It is just that, though, (a pig that can see the future) that begins the wonderful tale that is told within the pages of The Book of Three, which is the first book in Lloyd Alexander’s series The Chronicles of Prydain. Taran wants to be a hero. He wants a title, and a sword, and he wants to fight. But he is stuck at Caer Dallben, with Coll, and the enchanter, Dallben. He wants a title that shows his courage, and bravery, but instead, he gets the title of Assistant Pig-Keeper. It is part of his job to look after Hen Wen, the oracular pig that resides at Caer Dallben. But, when Hen Wen runs away, fleeing the terrible Horned King, it is up to Taran to get her back. He must leave the safety of Caer Dallben, and go into the wilderness of Prydain, searching for the pig. Along the way, he gathers to him a group of friends. First, there is Gwydion, who quickly becomes a hero in Taran’s eyes. Not only is he a prince in the House of Don, he is wise, and brave, and strong. Second, there is Gurgi. Gurgi is neither human nor wild animal. Taran finds him bothersome, and prone to complaining about not having enough food, but Gurgi becomes just as important to their mission as any of the others. Then, there is Eilonwy. When Taran first meets her, he sees only a scatterbrained, silly little girl, with not much respect for Assistant Pig-Keepers. But along the way, Taran realizes that Eilonwy is much braver, (and much, much more stubborn) than he had thought. Last, there is Fflewddur Fflam, the bard. Fflewddur is known for “coloring up the facts,” but his harp is enchanted, so every time he does not tell the truth, a string breaks, revealing his lie. The friends must find Hen Wen, but they also must be wary. The evil Arawn is at large in Prydain, and he has servants everywhere, the most fearsome of which is the Horned King… One thing I especially like about The Book of Three is the variety of characters. Gwydian, Gurgi, Taran, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur all have their own strengths and skills to add to their group, and together, they are very strong. The Chronicles are less well known than Harry Potter, or Percy Jackson, But Lloyd Alexander writes in a way that sucks you in just as much as any other adventure story. Taran, Eilonwy, and the rest, feel real, as you read of their adventures. I would recommend The Book of Three and the rest of the series to anyone about eight and up. There are scenes that get rather creepy, but altogether, the books are wonderful reads. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Square Fish, 1964. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
