Magical, otherworldly, truly unique. The character experiences some really hard trials, which was challenging but relatable for my girls. Much enjoyed. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for a free review copy. I am slowly trying to catch up on reviews and getting those NetGalley books read! 🙌

Katherine Applegate has wrote some of my favorite MG books. This one tops the list. I absolutely loved it. And how cute are the creatures?! This story is all about loss and love and being brave. It’s about Willodeen being so different from the other children, but so dang smart. I’m quickly buying a copy for my daughters shelf, and I can’t wait to read it again with her, in a few years. Such a great story and the illustrations were perfect!

The town of Perchance is suffering from the effects of climate change with fires and droughts becoming common, and now a lack of migrating hummingbears. The impact has left the town reeling from the destruction of homes and business, and the adults are stuck arguing about something to blame rather than finding a cause and solution. The economic livelihood of the town depends on the visitors who come to see the hummingbears and their bubble nests in the blue willow trees, but for unknown reasons, their numbers have decreased, and so have the visitors and their money. Willodeen, a recluse who was traumatized by the death of her family, loves the maligned screechers, who many in the town blame for all that has gone wrong. Under the tutelage of her deceased father, she learned to observe nature, makes notes, compare, and test a hypothesis to find answers and then create solutions. “Willodeen” is a love letter to the important symbiotic relationships on mother earth. Multidisciplinary and easily integrated into middle grades. Highly recommended.

I am so excited to have another Katherine Applegate novel to recommend to my students! The story drew me in from the start and had me finishing this book in only a couple of days. It is a great book for my students who felt drawn to Crenshaw, Wishtree, as well as Bob by Wendy Mass.

Another standout from Katherine Applegate. Willodean packs in the emotion and details in a story that keeps the reader enthralled without being lengthy. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

I realize this is a children's book, but it seemed a little light on details at the end. I enjoyed the story unfolding about the animals and the kids building a relationship, but then it just ended with problem solved, the end.

Thank you Netgalley and Mac Kids Books for the gifted book!

A short and sweet tale about the interconnectedness of nature and how we as humans can throw things off kilter when we don't act with intention or forethought. Touching on the subjects of science, family, friendships, and following your passions, this poignant tale will have you wishing you too got to experience the thrill of seeing hummingbears in their bubble nests and got to be friends with Willodeen, the fierce defender of the screechers.

Willodeen is yet another homerun by my favorite kids' fiction author Katherine Applegate.
Central themes in this book are loss, love, resilience and living life mindful of nature and the world around you.
As always the author conveys her message through beautiful language and imagery. My 7 year old was utterly enthralled and almost begged to go to bed early just to have time for an extra chapter!
At this point anything Applegate writes gets an immediate preorder from me.

This book is simply one of the best children’s books I’ve read in a long time. It follows Willodeen and her friends, both human and creature, as they work to save their town from the ecological disaster that it brought upon itself. This book is packed full of environmental and being true to one’s self messages. The characters are well developed and believed.

Willodeen is an orphan. She lost her family in a fire, one that affected her whole village, and she was taken in by a pair of old ladies; she knows they love her, but she can't, quite, relax enough to admit she loves them too, much less let anyone else get close to her. Instead, she investigates - in particular, she investigates nature, through close observation of the world around her, during which she finds out many interesting things never taught in the school she rarely attends. During one such investigation, Willodeen accidentally befriends Connor, and together, the two begin to investigate together, and they discover that things in nature are interwoven in ways no one had understood before. Join them on their adventure as they try to solve the greatest mystery they've ever seen - why the hummingbears their village relies upon have vanished, and how to bring them back.

This is a wonderful story, one that will make you laugh and cry, and then wish for more, as Willodeen slowly comes out of her self-imposed isolation and rejoins the world around her. Recommended for children of all ages, including teens and adults; this novel would make an incredible read-aloud as well as appealing to a wide variety of interests.

I am providing this review in return for being given a preview copy of the novel by NetGalley.

For those who love Katherine Applegate, Willodeen is another treasure. If you haven't read one of her books yet, I encourage you and your children to do so. Willodeen and her friend, Connor, are characters that you can't help but love, and the plot is whimsical.

I just added this wonderful book to my elementary library for my students to enjoy. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this delightful book.

willowdeen is katherine applegates new middle school fairytale about an a orphan named willowdeen. what makes this story unique is willowdeen’s relationship with nature and her courage to stand up for what she believes in.

Wonderfully shows the value of questioning and looking for the source of problems.
Beautifully woven into this fantastical story are great lessons on speaking up when you need to, experimenting to solve problems and asking questions always.

This book was adorable, sweet, deep, and important.
This book was fantastic for showing the value of the found family – even if it isn’t by your choice – and utilizing each member’s unique talents.

I definitely recommend you read this book for a beautifully imagined world with fantastic creatures, amazing friends, and learning that being different can be valuable.

Stars 4
Would I Recommend? Yes

Gorgeously written book with hints of A Wrinkle in Time and Bridge to Terebithia. Not a surprise given the author is Katherine Applegate. The main character is easy to connect with and I loved picturing the magical creatures in my mind. I didn’t even need the illustrations although they were beautiful. Definitely purchasing for my library.

This was the best book I’ve read in a while. Willodeen is a quirky, feel good story about lost but learning to move forward. There is much healing and I just love the nature aspect of this story and the cute little bears fairies and stinky animals that Willodeen is very fond of. I’m very glad I got to read this. It just warms the heart.

I enjoyed exploring the world of Perchance with Willodeen and Connor. And while I'm not sure I'd want a screecher for a pet, I can certainly see their value. Hummingbears, on the other hand - I'd take a dozen of those!
This book also serves as a gentle reminder that we do not exist to exploit the wonders of nature. Instead we should cherish them and do whatever is necessary to protect them.

The review of Willodeen is in the October 2021 issue of SFRevu.com, here's the link:
<http://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=19536>
The review is exclusive to SFRevu until November 1st, 2021.

This fun story is about a girl named Willodeen. She lost her entire family in a terrible fire and now lives with the ladies who nursed her back to health. She doesn't really attend school because the kids aren't very nice to her and she feels like school isn't teaching her anything interesting. She has a pet humming bear, that she rescued from the fire and likes to go walking through the woods observing the animals and making notes about them. She's very interested in an animal that no one else likes-screechers. The screechers make a loud terrible sound and release an even worse smell when threatened. The people of the village where she lives (Perchance) have been hunting the screechers and now the population appears to be extinct. Willodeen believes there might be a connection between the screechers and the humming bears, which are also declining, but the people of the village don't believe her. This is a lovely story about how populations do not grow in isolation but gather strength from dependence on others, even if that connection isn't obvious.

Eleven year old Willodeen was adopted by two older women after her family died in a fire. Willodeen is a little ... 'different' compared to other children her age. She has no friends (not human, anyway) and she loves nature - understanding more about the natural world than most adults.

Willodeen has a special affection for an unusual creature called a 'screecher.' To most in Willodeen's community (Perchance), screechers are nothing more than pests and the villagers are happy to note that the screechers aren't coming around as much. But Willodeen believes there is an importance to screechers, just as there are to the tiny hummingbears that should be around, but aren't.

Perchance has suffered through fires, and mudslides, and drought recently and Willodeen, a bright and observant girl with a bond to nature sees a connection between the low numbers of screechers and absent hummingbears and the devestation happening in Perchance. She enlists the help of Connor, the one other person her age she might consider a friend, to go into the woods and fix the problem.

This is a sweet story and the message about the interdependence of all living things couldn't be more timely as we struggle to hang on to forests and glaciers and other natural spaces. And connecting animals to these spaces is a powerful means to capture the interest of many younger readers.

The natural aspects of the book, along with the unusual creatures were delightfully drawn and attention-getting. I was looking forward to reading in the book each day because I was curious about these aspects.

The character of Willodeen, however, was less interesting to me. She had that 'go-get-'em' attitude that is necessary in a children's book, and made her somewhat delightful, but over all I never got much of a sense of who she is/was. It didn't matter to me what Willodeen did. What mattered was that nature be restored. The hummingbears, which nearly never appear in the book, were a more interesting character than Willodeen.

Still, the environmental message alone makes this worth reading and I know many young readers who will identify with our protagonist.

Looking for a good book? Willodeen is a middle-grade/young adult novel with a powerful environmental message written by one of the best writers of books for children currently publishing - Katherine Applegate. Every public and school library is likely to have this and it's worth checking out.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet, very slightly magical ecological novel, presumably for middle grade readers. I found it a little too short and simple for the topics. Not sure of the appeal to the intended audience.