BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frost, Helen. 2008. DIAMOND WILLOW. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374317768.
PLOT SUMMARY
This is a verse novel about a young girl coming of age during the Alaska winter. 110 poems compile the story of a young girl, Willow, who is finally old enough for her first solo journey from her home and her grandparents all by herself on the dog sled. An accident happens on the way back home that injures their best dog, and her best friend, Roxy. The poems tell of her brave adventure to save Roxy, find the meaning of her name and learn a secret along the way. Her family and friends help her through every challenge proving that love is a powerful and timeless bond. The cover art is by Max Grafe.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Poems are presented in different shapes, particularly diamonds. There is no rhyming scheme, no particular rhythm catches the ear, just a really great story presented in a creative way. Each page is like an individual chapter in the story, presented as a poem without the traditional requirements of rhyme and rythm. The animals observing Willow’s movements are actually her grandkin passed on into their next lives as animals. They watch and interact with Willow and her friends. The Spruce Hen is really Willow’s great-great-great-grandmother, Jean. The dog, Roxy, is really her…well, you’ve got to read to find out. The humans don’t seem to recognize their relatives for who they are, but do feel a sense of familiarity and share a traditional belief that the animals could be kin.
As with the natural diamond willow, each poem contains a darker center. Bolded words inside the poems create a hidden verse that brings an emotional depth to the story revealing the characters’ internal thoughts and feelings. Helen Frost has a knack for writing I haven’t encountered for a long time. I’ll read more of her works now that I’ve discovered her.
I must say that I am not a big poetry fan –small doses suffice. Some modern poetry I do enjoy is Slam Poetry, in performance is always best. When I first picked up the books for this module, I cringed at the 100+ pages of poetry for this section, no matter what shape. I skimmed through them to decide which title I would read for the review. Frost’s work caught my attention because of the Diamond Willow wood and the Alaskan setting. From the moment I opened it, I didn’t want to put this book down. I was captivated by how she presented her poems through the eyes of the grandkin-animals, and through the eyes of a surprisingly intelligent girl. None of the whiny adolescent language that I expected was there. I will recommend this volume to the next person looking for Alaska, or poetry, or even just a good piece of fiction.
WHAT IS A DIAMOND WILLOW?
The Diamond Willow is not a species of willow tree Diamond willow is found throughout colder northern climates, especially Alaska, the Great Plains, Minnesota and Michigan. Collecting these wooden jewels requires trekking into swamps, bogs, and riverbeds; places that are only accessible for a short period each year. The diamonds are actually more like elongated ovals with pointed ends with deepest point in the center. According to the Artisans Quarterly Review article(2:2 2009), “Diamond in the Willow, ”the shapes form as the result of an attack of a fungus particular to the willow family, Valsa Sordida. “The tree reacts to the fungus much like an oyster reacts to sand; it causes an irritation that results in the tree growing around the root of the fungus.” Depending on the size and shape of the wood, the diamond willow is useful for lamps, table legs, coat racks, chair frames, walking sticks, or any number of other creative projects. In our book, Willow made a lamp with the stick her father gave her, taken from a very special tree. http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/Artisans_Quarterly_Review_Vol2_Issue2_2009.pdf
REVIEW EXCERPT
“Diamond Willow aims younger than Frost's usual teenaged fare. Examining the relationship between a girl and her sled dog, Frost combines her standard intelligent wordplay with a story that will catch in the throats of dog lovers and people lovers alike.” Elizabeth Bird. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
HONORS AND AWARDS FOR DIAMOND WILLOW
2010 North Carolina Children’s Book Award Master List
2009 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
2009 Texas Lone Star Reading List
2009 Best Books of Indiana, Children and Young Adult
2009 CCBC Choices List
2009-2010 Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Master List
2009-2010 Keystone to Reading Book Award Master List (Pennsylvania)
2009 Honor Book: The Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry
Bank Street List of Best Children's Books
Indie Next Kids' List Great Read
Cybil’s Middle Grade Fiction Finalist
Capitol Choice’s Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens
Mitten Award--Michigan Library Association
http://www.helenfrost.net/item.php?postid=25
CONNECTIONS
This would be a great piece to read aloud in a round robin. The group members can take turns reading whole poems and listening to the story unfold.
The sound of language: Frost’s writing is a wonderful introduction to the prosody of storytelling and even the anthropomorphic applications of language. Frost says in her biography, “I love the music of language, the intricacies of the way sound patterns and patterns of meaning intersect and weave together, the way language brings its own history into a story so that the story becomes multi-layered--the story of the narrative and the story of how the narrative takes shape within language.”
Check out other books and poetry by Helen Frost on her website, http://www.helenfrost.net/.
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