Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce

Like the Willow Tree: The Dairy of Lydia Amelia Pierce
By Lois Lowry
Scholastic, 2011, 216 p., Youth Historical Fiction

"It is called Spanish Influenza. I do not know a single person who suffers from it and think it is all quite silly." (pg 4) In the Fall of 1918 the Great War was coming to an end when the Spanish Influenza epidemic swept up into Maine. This forever change the life of Lydia Pierce. Within days she and her brother Daniel were orphans. Soon they found a new home with the Shaker community of Sabbath Day Lake. Life is different with the Shakers, but is different a bad thing? Can Lydia find a new family with these kind people?

This book is one of the Dear America series. All these books are written as diaries of fictional girls who live through historical events and meet real people who lived there too. These books provide engaging stories with real events. At the end of every book is a section explaining what was true and what was not. It's great for elementary kids, but adults may enjoy them as well. Scholastic also has My Name is America, where boys are the focus of the diaries, and The Royal Diaries, which focus on true life princesses. This one focuses on the Shaker community as it neared its decline. At the time this book was written in 2011 there were only 3 Shaker's left in the whole world, but the community at Sabbath Day Lake that Lydia and her brother are sent to is real, and still exists. You can even visit it if you ever travel to Maine. This book does deal with death, and while it's not violent, it is tragic and may upset sensitive children. It is written by the award winning author Lois Lowery who wrote Number the Stars and The Giver.