Willodeen by Katherine Applegate – Book Review

Title: Willodeen Author: Katherine Applegate Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Release Date: September 7, 2021 Interested in teaching Willodeen? Check out the LIT Lessons Willodeen Novel Study.

Willodeen loves nature. In fact, she would much rather be outside, alone, away from everyone, and surrounded by her favorite creatures, screechers. As her eleventh birthday approaches, Willodeen notices how much things have changed in the outside she adores. Perchance, her village, is on the precipice of a calamity because the annual migration of hummingbears to their blue willow trees is threatened. The village relies on the spectacle and tourists it attracts. However, fires, drought, mudslides, fever, the bounty on screechers, and now, the disappearance of the hummingbears has created an imbalance that imperils all. Rather than accepting this fate, Willodeen tries to speak up and give voice to her beloved screechers. When she does, she makes an unexpected friend, Connor. Then, a small but magical gift gives Willodeen not only the will but also a way to solve the mystery of the missing hummingbears and perhaps save Perchance. If only the adults will listen.

Katherine Applegate’s Willodeen is a timely and poignant tale that illuminates nature’s fragility. It is sure to be a classic. Its beautiful prose and intriguing point of view shifts will engage readers, keeping them riveted and eager to follow Willodeen as she attempts to solve the mystery of the hummingbears. Willodeen’s length and straightforward language makes it accessible, but it is still deep. Its themes help raise significant, challenging questions for readers to ponder. Applegate adeptly depicts the webs that connect nature and people and the important yet tenuous relationships holding all those links together. When these threads are studied, readers will find a story just as fragile and nuanced as its subject. Characters are cued as White or read default-White, while Connor has brown skin.

Willodeen will surely be read in classrooms everywhere. Aside from a captivating piece of literature, its deeper messages and potential for real-life connections make it the perfect book for a novel study. Opportunities for cross-curricular studies about science and conservation abound, and there is ample material for deep literary analysis throughout its pages. Together, they offer numerous chances to pose important questions and ignite meaningful conversations. The lessons are immediately relevant so even though Willodeen will be around for a long time, the time to read it is now.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher, Feiwel & Friends, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Teaching Unit – Use the Willodeen Novel Study to teach a cross-curricular unit on ecosystems.
• Cross-Curricular Unit – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of nature, conservation, and humans’ impact on nature.
• Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of books that focus on nature, nature-human relationship, or fantasy.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• Climate Change
• Conservation Efforts
• Natural World & Balance
• Ecosystems

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Willodeen. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• The Adventure is Now by Jess Redman (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• Everywhere Blue by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• The Last Wild by Piers Torday (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)

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