Cheer-worthy fable of animals, friendship, ecosystems.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a little
An old screecher peaceably napping in his log is killed by hunters before Willodeen's loving eyes. Hunters brandish weapons and speak harshly to Willodeen. Willodeen's entire family, and their beloved animals, perished in a fire, and she's still grieving. Connor's mom also died some time ago.
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Strong messages of friendship, community, working together, paying attention to how nature works and working with it rather than against it. Importance of being yourself and doing what you can. Opening page quotes environmentalist Greta Thunberg: "I have learned you are never too small to make a difference." Or, as Willodeen's caregiver says, "Do something useful with all that anger." Also: "Change is coming, certain as sunrise. The only question is how we deal with it."
Positive Role Models
a lot
Following her caregiver's wise words, Willodeen finds something useful to do with her anger, protecting those she loves against those who would harm them, fighting superstition and greed with information and understanding, and making friends in the process. Her friend Connor, more of an artist than a scientist, gives her a life-changing gift, proves a valuable ally when the gift takes on a life of its own. The two old ladies who care for Willodeen are strong, forceful, supportive, great in a crisis. When a fire threatens the village, everyone puts aside their differences to fight it.
Educational Value
a lot
Willodeen is a budding scientist, making lots of observations about how things work in nature and taking lots of notes. It's in a fantasy world but there's a lot of detail about ecosystems, symbiotic relationships, and how they can get out of balance. Her caregivers are fond of quoting Shakespeare: "And though she be but little, she is fierce."
Diverse Representations
a little
Willodeen doesn't fit in with most people and has kept to herself since losing her family, partly because she doesn't get social cues and partly because she's appalled by a lot of human behavior. Her caregivers are two old women who seem to have been a loving couple "since the dawn of time." Her BFF Connor is described as having warm brown skin.
Parents need to know that Willodeen is another cheer-worthy, inspiring, animal-centered tale written by Newbery Medal recipient Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan) and illustrated by Carlos Santoso. Here, an 11-year-old orphan, traumatized by the wholesale slaughter of odd-looking creatures (called screechers) she loves, heeds the advice of her caregivers to do something useful with her anger. Unfolding events involve a new friend (whose mom died some time ago), a toy animal who comes to life, a lot of research and observation -- and summoning the courage to speak to a hostile, clueless crowd to share your findings. Violence includes an old screecher killed by hunters before Willodeen's eyes. Hunters brandish weapons and speak harshly to Willodeen. Willodeen's entire family, and their beloved animals, perished in a fire when she was 6 and she's still grieving. While the story takes place in a fantasy world (though one where people still quote Shakespeare), it has a lot of detail about how ecosystems and symbiotic relationships work, and how things go awry when they're out of balance. There are also strong themes of family, friendship, and community that includes more than humans.
I read this book out loud to my 9 and 7 year old . I did not screen it properly and didn't know about the whole family perishing in a wildfire. The book is overall lovely, with rich visual language and wonderful messages. I think the event of her entire family perishing is too harsh for a youth book. I wonder about why this was the choice to create a grief stricken character, surely there are less intense ways. I am putting the age rating at 12+ for this reason. Unless this is something that has happened to a child, making Willodeen a character they can relate to, I have concern that it puts seeds of fear in young children. I modified the language , softening the memories about the fire- such as hearing her family scream as they died.
this is a book that is part of DART, from BraveWriter, which is a lovely way to explore the linguistic elements of the book.
Eleven-year-old WILLODEEN lives in the village of Perchance, where life revolves around the annual fall festival celebrating the hummingbears, cute little airborne critters like winged teddy bears. Since time immemorial they have come to build their bubble nests in the blue willow trees around the town, drawing hordes of admirers, including free-spending tourists. The tourists complain a lot about another group of animals, the screechers, who in addition to being noisy aren't much to look at and also make a fearful stink when frightened. Willodeen, the only survivor of a fire that killed her family when she was 6, loves all animals, but especially the screechers, and when the town decides to placate the tourists by putting a bounty on the screechers, she notes sadly that there's only one left -- and he's killed before her eyes by hunters intent on collecting a few coins. The two eccentric old ladies who've cared for her since she lost her family note that there is magic in tears born from anger, and perhaps she should find something useful to do with all that anger. As she ponders their words, a handcrafted toy screecher she's been given by her new friend Connor comes to life. Maybe it was those tears. But how are Willodeen and Connor going to keep Quinby, as they soon name the little screecher, safe? Especially since they're not exactly sure what she eats?
Katherine Applegate's tale of two tweens, their love for misunderstood creatures, and magic born of righteous fury will delight animal lovers and anyone who's ever been outraged by harm to innocents. Eleven-year-old characters Willodeen (orphaned, introverted, traumatized, a scientist at heart) and Connor (motherless, kindhearted, and a brilliant artist in the making) will have readers on the edge of their seats cheering their efforts as they strive to protect the baby screecher brought to life by Willodeen's tears. They'll also love the supporting cast of characters, from orphan hummingbear Duuzuu to the two old women who care for Willodeen, who enrich the story. Along the way, there's a lot of practical, accessible detail about symbiosis (a relationship between two unalike organisms), ecosystems, and how they work. Carlos Santoso's detailed, appealing illustrations enrich the story by bringing the characters and scenes to life.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about ecosystems and how they work. Do you think Willodeen offers a good illustration of this idea? What other stories do you know about people trying to improve the environment and care for the other species we share it with? Do you find their stories inspiring, or is it all too overwhelming to deal with?
In the story, the townsfolk set out to exterminate the screechers because their stinky ways are messing with the tourist trade. They offer a bounty on each one killed. What do you think of this idea as a way to address the issue?
Have you ever felt like Willodeen when she says that it seems like the whole village seems to have read the same rule book on friendship -- and then thrown it in the river before she could read it? What brought this feeling on? How did you deal with it?
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
