5 stars

Such a sweet and imaginative book written for advanced younger readers or middle school readers, whose ultimate message is that everything in nature has a role and is connected and that humans have thrown that delicate balance way off-kilter by killing off what we don't understand for monetary reasons or because they are inconvenient in some way. This would be a perfect book for a unit in science. Willodeen is an orphan who has been taken in by a pair of kindly old ladies (yes, that's how they refer to themselves) who are a bit unusual in their own way. She lost her family to a fire and is generally looked down upon by many of the "upright" citizens in the town. She has a strong connection with nature and loves the strange creatures called Screechers who are loud, not much to look at, and release a terrible smell when they are scared. There are illustrations of the Screecher in the book and they look mostly like a warthog with a long furry tail. They are considered a nuisance and a bounty is put on them, which upsets Willodeen as they are her favorite animal. The other major creature in this story are the hummingbears, which look like little tiny flying polar bears and the tourism brought by the annual migration of the hummingbears to her village is what keeps the village afloat the rest of the year. Although Willodeen has not attended school, and is therefore viewed by most of the village (but not her ladies) as not very smart and not worth listening to, she has an observational scientist's heart and she decides to see if she can figure out why the hummingbears are no longer coming to her village.

I loved this story with its call to action message as an "undesirable" little girl becomes the heroine in this village. I enjoyed watching her come out of her shell and be willing to let Connor in as a friend, and I loved Mae and Birdie as well. This is a book full of heart and magic and I think it would be perfect for any elementary and middle school library.

I received an electronic ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends through NetGalley.
Applegate spins a magical animal tale about unusual creatures. Readers also see how a young girl, Willodeen, heals and finds her voice. She is learning to cope with her grief after losing her family in a fire and finding her courage to speak for the animals, particularly the Screechers. Others in her village want to destroy these animals and have done so almost to extinction. Magical forces bring a created Screecher to life which leads to a discovery about the ecosystem that brings the tourists so the town will survive.
Applegate's writing style offers a gentle look at the emotions and scars her characters face. Readers become part of the natural cycles and will see the messages beyond the simple story.

An enthralling read beautifully worded and crafted in a way that only Katherine Applegate can! Passages are written in prose but read like poetry, instilling an important message about the environment in a non-preachy fashion. Willodeen is a wonderful role model with a voice that will enlighten and enchant readers. I hope to include Willodeen as part of a larger guided reading and STEM unit with my students. You won't go wrong with Willodeen, due out 9/7!

The book was beautiful in every aspect. The words were beautifully written, the story was beautifully told, the animals were beautifully described. This is my new favorite Katherine Applegate book. This book was perfect.

This simply written fantasy with a touch of magical realism has a powerful message of preserving the environment. I will be recommending this to upper elementary teachers to use when teaching theme and author’s message. Middle school literacy interventionists will also love using this book with their students. There is much to infer and notice. The parallels to the way we treat our environment can’t be missed. Katherine Applegate has done it again!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a awesome book about one lonely girl and the animal no one else loves being hunted to almost extinction and the changes that makes in nature and how it almost ruins a town.

We all know that everything in nature for the most part has a job and if the job isn't done it can totally throw off the balance of everything around it. This is that story but filled with love and caring from a girl that seemingly has lost hope and finds this hard to deal out. Mrs. Applegate has another wonderful hit on her hands that will appeal to readers of all ages and abilities. This would also make a great classroom read for younger students. I hope you give this book a chance I think you will find it as awesome as I do.

This review will appear on my blog on Sept. 7th

Willodeen is wise beyond her years. At eleven years old she sees the importance of balance in nature, as well as the beauty. Willodeen is no stranger to loss which leads her to isolate herself and keep her distance even from those she loves. Her classroom is the forest around where she lives. She spends her time observing, noticing and learning from the trees and the creatures that make up the forest. Willodeen has a soft spot for the screechers, which most of the rest of the village see as pests, so much so that there aren't many around. How will Willodeen get her community to see the importance of balance, that a pest is just as necessary as something viewed as beautiful while opening her heart at the same time?
Author Katherine Applegate has done it yet again! She has the amazing talent and ability to take important and relevant issues and make them accessible to young readers. The beauty of her words will touch your heart in ways you can't imagine and you will find yourself smiling through your tears.

I'm happy to write that Katherine Applegate's stories are always terrific and I loved this new one. It was a gift to have the advanced copy from Net Galley!
Dear Willowdeen, about to turn eleven, has had tragedy in her life; wildfires took her home, parents, and brother. Luckily she was taken in and nursed back to health by two women in the small town where they live, Perchance. She is a lover of nature and wanders the woods, especially the blue willow trees, for glimpses of the most unlovable creatures there, the screechers. Loud with note-worthy scents, they have had bounties put on them, something Willowdeen hates and eventually fights. A surprise meeting with a young boy named Connor who creates a gift for Willowdeen's birthday becomes the magic she uses to figure out why no Hummingbears have returned to Perchance. Those special creatures are an annual fair's tourist draw for people's livelihood for the rest of the year. The town's fires and drought, the possibility of no fair creates a problem for all to solve, yet this "youngster's" voice, so little heard before, speaks up to help. She struggles to find answers, something to admire for that quest. Learning about friendship and love also adds to Willowdeen's journey in poignant scenes. For those who love the earth and need to continue learning about it in order to better keep it safe, this is a book that will inspire all to pay attention.

This was just the right amount of the adorable and fantastic mixed with real-life scenarios kids can instantly relate to - feelings of not fitting in, of being different from everyone else, and in some cases, missing your family and not being sure entirely of where you belong.

Willodeen has been alone ever since her family perished in a fire, and tbh, she likes it that way - or thinks she does. She is interested in researching wildlife, even wildlife that others might find "monstrous," and wholeheartedly buys into her father's saying that nature knows better than we do what's needed. However, most of the town thinks she's crazy for being so interested in the stinky, disgusting, loud Screechers, and are not concerned whatsoever with their gradual disappearance.

However, when the town is facing a crisis due to missing out on their main income, tourism from the hummingbear festival, it's Willodeen who can show them that nature truly does know what it needs - and we can all exist together.

In turns funny and heartbreaking, with the perfect amount of cute and fantastic creatures thrown in - this book is a great read even for adults!

Another fantastic book by Katherine Applegate! This book is about Willodeen who has had a lot of tragedy happen in her young life. After losing her family, she is taken in by two women who love and care for her in a community who doesn't support her inquisitive nature and her choice to be alone. When her community's nature festival (and main source of income) is threatened, Willodeen uses her inquiry skills to figure out what's happening. This is a wonderful middle grade book about resilience and the power of young people.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent story about a parent teaching empathy to their child.

Beautiful language. I enjoyed the novel and thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.

I love everything Katherine Applegate writes. Willodeen is no exception there. It was so cute and imaginative. Willodeen loves all animals even the town nuisance the screechers who smell awful. When a handmade gift from her friend Connor magically becomes living, she will have to protect it and help her town realize that nature and humans have to live together to survive. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC of this wonderful book. 4 stars

What a wonderful whimsical story! This is just the book I have been looking for! It will go perfectly with my unit on animal life cycles. Absolutely delightful! Read in one sitting! 5 stars!

What an amazing new story from Katherine Applegate. Young Willodeen has always been a lover of nature and all creatures, even those considered unloveable by others. So of course she’s concerned when the “Screechers” begin to disappear from the woods surrounding her small village. One by one, they’re gone. And then one day, a new little creature appears. With it come lessons for everyone on what it means to coexist peacefully and cooperatively. Such a wonderful book that I can’t wait to read to my second graders!

Oh what a glorious twist that I did not see coming! Charming and magical and poignant are the words that come to mind when I think back on this story. “Willodeen” would make a wonderful read aloud and would be great in conjunction with Earth Day celebrations.

I wish with all my heart that hummingbears were real. This book was a real treat, one that will stick in my memory for a long time.

Once again, Katherine Applegate pulls at your heart in her latest novel, Willodeen. The title character is a young girl whose life was upended when her parents and sibling were killed in a fire that tore through their village. Now living with two kind women, she explores the woods and mostly keeps to herself, preferring the company of animals such as the vilified screechers (think appearance of a warthog, smell of a skunk) and an injured hummingbear (exactly what it sounds like) to humans.

The town relies on the money brought in from tourist traffic during the hummingbears’ annual migration, but there have been less and less hummingbears as of late. There have been more fires, though. In fact, nature is out of balance. Can Willodeen and her new friend, Connor, solve the hummingbear mystery before it is too late?

Applegate writes beautiful characters in this winning tale about nature’s balance and learning to open one’s heart. My only complaint is that the storytelling is a bit heavy handed. Middle graders are intelligent! There isn’t a need to spell everything out for them and hit them over the head with the message. However, this is a small complaint. I will be recommending it enthusiastically to readers.

What a wonderful book! My 8-year old and I read this book together and we both loved it. The characters were relatable and the plot was realistic but also fun. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a 3rd-5th grader and I would encourage teachers to add this book to their classroom library. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of Willodeen in exchange for my opinion.

’For Mother Earth. Thanks for putting up with us.’

’I have learned you are never too small to make a difference.’- Greta Thunberg

’...and a little child shall lead them’ -Isaiah 11:6

This begins as a “Once upon a time” story, a story of magic, our planet, and a child - or two, that may be young, but who are more in tune with the magic in our world. They hope to protect it from those who, in the name of progress, are slowly destroying everything that makes life worth living, the magic of life, beauty, and wonder.

Willodeen was orphaned as a young child, a wildfire took the lives of her brother and her parents. She lives with Mae and Birdie, who offer her love and a home, in the woods where she loves to roam, trying to find the elusive screechers, whose lives have become endangered due to a bounty that was placed on them by the village, who wants to be rid of them. Their repulsive smell and their foul nature makes them a target, but Willodeen was raised by her Pa to love all creatures, and she remembers his words. They would be some of the last words he shared with her, as the fire that took her family would soon follow.

As the screecher population has dwindled drastically, so has the population of the beloved hummingbears, much to the chagrin of the townspeople, as they have been a huge inducement. A much loved attraction to the many tourists that come to their small town of Perchance annually for the Autumn Faire.

After a while, Connor, a young boy befriends her, a friendship she is reluctant to accept at first. She’s a loner, doesn’t trust easily, and has no friends since she doesn’t attend school. But slowly, over time, Connor shows her that he will not betray her trust, gifting her on her birthday with a small, handmade animal, which seems almost real. Soon after, it comes to life as if by magic. Together, these two, through a different kind of magic, convincingly share their wisdom of the balance that Nature and our planet requires.


Pub Date: 07 Sep 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group / Feiwel & Friends

A bit of a misfit Willodeen feels closer to the creatures around her like her hummingbear than other kids. She, like others have been taught to fear the screechers who terrorize the village and woods. That changes when she makes contact with a baby screecher and learns how they are a vital part of the fragile ecosystem. Part warning about messing up the planet, part finding your voice, part friendship and all magic. This story will resonate with earth lovers, animal lovers and numerous Katherine Applegate fans. Once again the author implores us to listen to the quiet voice instead of the angry outburst and to look for the magic that is right in front of us. On a side note, my Animorph animal would be a hummingbear. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.