Product Description

Ten-year-old Willow lives with her four-year-old brother Twig. They are in the care of their mother, since neither of their fathers have stuck around to raise them. When their mother breaks her parole and takes off, they are left in the care of Maisie. Unfortunately Maisie suddenly dies, and the two find themselves alone in the city.

With no one left to look after them in the city where they were born, they are sent to live with Willow's grandmother, a writer, in her house called Stonecrop. From the rough streets of Vancouver, the children must adjust to a rural setting in Ontario, and the ways of their grandmother.

Both heartbreakingly real and honestly inspiring, the story of Willow and Twig reverberates with the realities of growing up alone and unwanted, learning to be proud of who you are and having the courage to find out where it is that you truly belong.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #325236 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Transparency
• 256 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8-When their mother, Angel, takes off again, Willow Jones and her four-year-old brother, Twig, are left with a frail, near penniless, old woman who had agreed to take care of the children for a weekend. When the weekend extends to months and Maisie dies, Willow knows that she must take charge of their situation. With her insistent and encouraging inner voice called Red Mouse, she finds the help needed to leave the threatening streets of Vancouver. The packet of her mother's papers held by Maisie opens another world for the children, sparking Willow's loose-ended, half-recalled memories, and presenting her with family and friends for the first time in her life. The children fly to Ontario, where they are met by their grandmother, who lives in the rural family home with her brother and sister, plus an assortment of animals. Uncle Hum is a blind writer of children's books and the author of the "Red Mouse" stories so familiar to Willow. He responds positively to the children; Aunt Constance, however, is much less accepting. Both difficult and everyday issues are introduced: Angel's drug addiction, Twig's disabilities and how they occurred, the prejudice the children confront, making friends, finding a place in a family. The pacing of this richly textured novel allows characters to develop plausibly, quiet mysteries to unravel logically, and problems to be addressed optimistically. Relationships between adults and children are explored and evolve; motives for adult behaviors are introduced. Readers will come to know and empathize with these well-realized characters and cheer for their triumphs, both minor and great.
Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Ten-year-old Willow and her younger, emotionally disturbed brother, Twig, feel like "nobody's children." Abandoned by their drug-addicted mother, Angel, they become homeless when their temporary caretaker suddenly dies. The terrified kids end up at the Vancouver police station, where Willow finally calls her grandmother, who Willow believed had disowned Angel and her children. Grandmother welcomes the children with delight, and, with the help of an uncle, the children travel to the family farm near Toronto to begin their new life. There are plenty of plot elements--among them, Angel's addiction and the abuse suffered by the children--which might have turned to melodrama in the hands of a less talented author. But veteran writer Little tells the story without sensationalism, using matter-of-fact language and poignant details that bring readers straight into Willow's emotional world--especially the child's fierce devotion to her brother and her persistent fear that this new home, like others before it, will crumble. A moving, ultimately hopeful story about abandonment and rescue. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Jean Little is the award-winning author of forty-two books for children. Her picture books include Once upon a Golden Apple and Revenge of the Small Small. Her novel Willow and Twig won the Mr. Christie Book Award, His Banner Over Me won the 1996 Violet Downey Book Award, and Gruntle Piggle Takes Off was nominated for a Governor General's Award for illustration. Her work has been translated into twelve languages. She lives in Guelph, Ontario.