Like the Willow Tree, Paperback

The heartfelt and moving story of a young girl living through the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918, now with a brand new introduction from Lois Lowry.

In 1918, as the Great War rages in Europe, the Spanish influenza tears a brutal path across the United States, leaving devastation in its wake. Ordinary life is turned upside down as schools are closed, and all spheres of public life are shut down.

Suddenly, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her older brother, Daniel, find themselves orphans of the flu, and are taken by their grieving uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the Shaker's unfamiliar way of life, Lydia, a fiercely independent girl, must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know.

Lydia must work hard, and all the while she worries about her headstrong brother, who has run away. In time, and with her courageous spirit, Lydia learns to overcome the devastation wrought by the Spanish flu pandemic and find the joy in living with the Shakers -- yet she cannot stop wondering, will Daniel ever return?

Newbery medalist Lois Lowry's poignant story of a girl living through the Spanish Influenza pandemic sadly seems more resonant than ever before. In the face of COVID-19, readers are sure to draw comfort from Lydia's sense of hopefulness. Now, with a brand new introduction from the author

About author(s):Lois Lowry is the author of many acclaimed books for children. She is a two-time Newbery Award winner -- for NUMBER THE STARS, a book that is required reading in many classrooms, and THE GIVER, which remains one of the most talked-about and debated books in children's publishing history. THE GIVER is soon to be a major motion picture with Walden Media. She is also the author of GOSSAMER, CROW CALL, and THE WILLOUGHBYS, among many, many others. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.