TWU LS 5603 - Poetry Reviews - DIAMOND WILLOW

Frost, Helen, and Jennifer Ikeda. 2009. DIAMOND WILLOW. Prince Frederick: MD: Recorded Books. ISBN 1436196178

PLOT SUMMARY

Twelve year old Willow convinces her parents to let her take three of the family’s sled dogs and go twenty miles to her Grandma and Grandpa’s house. After arriving safely, her return trip home is not as successful.  After coming into a corner too fast, a fallen tree catches her by surprise and injures her lead dog. Coming home and facing her mom and dad is her worst nightmare…”Roxy is blind. There’s nothing they can do.” Her father decides to have the blind dog put to sleep. Willow decides she should secretly take her blind dog to live with her Grandparents, but needs someone to hold the dog while she guides the sled, so she asks her friend, Kaylie, to skip school and help her. Lost on the trail with a lead dog that doesn’t know the way, the girls encounter a lynx and its tracks that lead the girls back to the trail to the Grandparent’s house. Roxy is pulled into the house and taken care of by Willow.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this emotionally enthralling and incredibly powerful story of the pain of blindness, the pain of losing a twin and the journey of almost losing a best friend, Helen Frost entices the reader with the clever diamond shaped text and then opens Willow’s head to let the reader inside. This is a verse novel about a young Alaskan girl and her adventure with her best friend, a sled dog named Roxy. It is written in free verse in a diamond shaped pattern throughout the book with hidden statements in bold print. The author’s notes at the beginning give you an insight into the history of the characters and setting, as well as, an explanation of the wood called diamond willow and the foreshadowing of the dark circle from when a branch is injured, leaving a diamond shape around the scar. This novel is written with the Native American belief in reincarnation and especially beings moving from a human body to a non-human existence.  The ancestor interludes scattered amongst Willow’s diary-like entries provide reflections on the present and past, as well as, serve a protective, guiding role like that of typical fairy godmother characters. There is great personification of all the animals in this story from the sled dogs, to each relative who has returned as an animal. The language in this book is appropriate for young readers, but the emotional journey is one for more mature readers. The ingenious writing of the representation of the spruce tree begins the story with the diamond willow stick,  foreshadows the relationship between Willow and her dog, Roxy, and concludes with a full circle to connect all parts of the narrative.  This is a moving book and one that leaves the reader with the true meaning of dedication and friendship.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist 06/15/08

School Library Journal 06/01/08

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books starred 06/01/08

Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA) 10/01/08

Horn Book 07/01/08

Wilson’s Junior High School 01/09/10

Horn Book starred (September, 2008) “The first-person, present-tense narrative is typeset in diamond shapes; bold-faced words at the heart of each diamond hold an additional nugget of meaning. Despite some misplaced mysticism, as a dog and dogsled story, the tale wears its knowledge gracefully.”

School Library Journal (June 1, 2008) “This complex and elegant novel will resonate with readers who savor powerful drama and multifaceted characters.”

 

CONNECTIONS

Anderson, LaVere, and Herman B. Vestal. 1976. BALTO, SLED DOG OF ALASKA. Champaign, Ill: Garrard Pub. Co. ISBN 0811648591

·         Partner this to look at the job of sled dogs in Alaska

Hill, Kirkpatrick. 2005.DANCING AT THE ODINOCHKA.. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 0689873883

·         Partner this book to discuss other young Alaskan girls and their families and the Athabascan culture

Bruchac, Joseph, and Michael J. Caduto. 1992. NATIVE AMERICAN ANIMAL STORIES. Golden, Colo: Fulcrum Pub. ISBN 1555911277

·         Partner this to discuss the role of animals in Native American tales