Willow and Twig

by Jean Little

Willow doesn't know what to do. Her mother has taken off again, she has to look after her brother Twig, and they're out on the streets of Vancouver with nowhere to go. Then Willow remembers her grandmother, whom she hasn't seen in years. Gram doesn't even know Twig exists, and Twig is, well, difficult. But Gram is her only hope now. After a few urgent phone calls from a police station in Vancouver to Ontario, Willow and Twig are on their way across the country to a grandmother they hardly know, and a strange household made up of an eccentric uncle, a hostile aunt, and a motley crew of animals. Willow is entranced by this new home-but is it really home? Are they safe at last?

Genres: Canada, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Family, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2001

About the author

Jean Little is a Canadian author, born in Taiwan. Her work has mainly consisted of children's literature, but she has also written two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within. Little has been partially blind since birth as a result of scars on her cornea and is frequently accompanied by a guide dog.

Reviews

[Neill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten year old Willow and four year old Twig have been abandoned by their mother and left with her friends and acquaintances their whole lives. Twig was born addicted to drugs and was beaten by the boyfriend ruining his hearing at one of the places they were left and Willow is the only person he trusts. When the lady who looked after them last dies Willow knows she must escape before she is claimed by the lowlifes in the neighbourhood and she turns to the one person her mother kept her from. A very realistic picture of the streets of east Vancouver.

[Solana Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

reread!

[Lorraine Montgomery]

Ten-year-old Willow looks out for her little brother, Cal. They call him Twig because he's always attached to the end of her arm. Willow has responsibilities beyond her years and a determination that no-one will hurt her brother, no-one will make fun of him, and no-one will separate them. Without a confidant, she holds conversations with an imaginary red velvet mouse called Red Mouse, who gives her sage advice always. Willow has looked out for Twig since he was born. Willow and her mother, Angel, were staying with friends out in the woods when Twig was born and shortly after that, Angel took off. Thereafter, the two of them were shunted around from pillar to post with Angel showing up only occasionally and briefly.

Twig is a difficult child. He was born addicted to cocaine; at age two, the brother of one of the people they were staying with beat him about the head and damaged his hearing. Willow fumes privately whenever someone refers to him as a 'brat' or a 'retard' because she knows he just doesn't hear most of what is said. When the story begins, they are staying with a retired hospital ward aide named Maisie in a one room apartment with no hot water and a shared bathroom down the hall. They try to avoid Rae who is the drug dealer who got Angel hooked and has an inordinate amount of interest in Willow. When Maisie collapses on the street and Rae steals the welfare cheque from her purse, Willow knows she has to get both her and Twig out of there. Where can they go? Willow has a distant memory of her grandmother but Angel told her that her gram never wanted to see them again. And once Twig throws a screaming tantrum, people don't usually want them to stay.

Jean Little draws on her personal experience as a teacher of handicapped children at the Guelph Crippled Children's Centre and her own life-long struggles with sight to create believable characters who are both winsome and courageous. She taps into real emotions and attitudes with a writing style that is riveting. Throughout the novel there are people who are racist, some who are inept and irresponsible, some who live with a silent fear, and some who put everything on the line to give two isolated children a home, a family, and a second chance. This book won the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 2000. I stayed up way too late Saturday night reading because I couldn't put it down.

[Taylor Terriberry]

"Willow and Twig" by Jean Little was a cute book. I loved the fact the Twig would hang around Willow at all times, literally like his name, whixh is how he got his nickname. I feel that that makes Willow more responsible, almost like she knows that this little one is in her care. The author's purpose of this book is that no matter what situation you're in, you can always make the best of it and carry on. Willow conveys this by showing how even though their mother has left them, their care has died on them, and so much other bad events have occured, Willow has still been there for Twig. For example, Willow willingly helped her Grandmother. Gram says, "'Are you coming to lend a hand'" (214)? And Willow did. She helped in the gardens even though all of these sad events in her life are going on. Willow and Twig is an inspirational story about the struggles in life and how you can overcome them. It was a little slow at first, but overall I thought it was a good book.

[C.L. Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favourite Jean Little book, and I love her books anyway. Jean Little's books often focus on disadvantaged girls - a girl who is legally blind, a girl with cerebral palsy, etc. But this is her first and only book which features a POC. It is also a lot less cuddly than many of her other books. Jean Little's books often address important topics like the death of a parent, disability, war, etc. But they are very cuddly and comforting.

Willow and Twig ranges into territory that Jean Little never touched before, including child abuse, drug use, and severe neglect. It is brave, and important, and, because it is Jean Little, heartwarming.

[Children's Department]

Willow and Twig are children alone; born of a drug-addicted mother and abandoned repeatedly - the story begins and they are in a small, dirty apartment with a woman who soon gets injured. Worried about an exboyfriend of her mother's, Willow decides to escape and hide in the park rather than wait for an ambulance. Then they go to the police station for help and end up flying from their home (Vancouver) to Toronto to live with their Grandmother. This is tense but reassuring book with some very tough themes including child and drug abuse.

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure I'd read this one aloud to a middle-schooler. It begins in harsh circumstances, and references abortion, abuse, abandonment, drug use and racism, among other things. It seems written more for older teens. However, circumstances improve pretty rapidly and it ends well. You can't help but admire Willow for her courage and protectiveness, and give thanks for her Gram.

[Blythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, Well not at the start.
This book was assigned at my school for summer reading. It has a plot that at first is hard to get into, but once I did it just kept me on my toes and I couldn't put it down!

[kiara d-m · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

[Sonia Nasmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book.

[Claire Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read willow and twig for the first time in grade 6 for a battle of the books competition at my school, and have not lived without a copy since. one of my favourite books of all time.

[Pamela Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually got this book out of the library because I was recommending Jean Little on a Facebook group as a writer of novels for children many of which feature handicapped children - and happy endings which don't include a cure. It was one of two of her novels for older children which our county system still owns, and I wanted to give them a reason to keep it. But I was really glad for it when I needed to read something easy and encouraging (on the whole).

I liked it a lot - it's very well-written and poignant. It was hard to put down.

It starts out sad, about two kids abandoned by their drug-addicted mother, but soon they find people who help them and then a home with their grandmother. The little one, a boy, is disabled in several ways and both are traumatized. Their Grandma and Uncle did a great job with them - not perfect, but very good. It's interesting to watch the three grown-ups (there's also a somewhat difficult aunt) negotiating their own relationships.

It was interesting to learn how a particular school for hearing-impaired children operates.

I enjoyed watching Willow, the girl, learning to be friends with another girl - who turns out to have her own, less obvious troubles.

I liked that their Grandma took them to church most weeks, but I didn't like when Willow decided, while listening to a minister describe God to children near the end of the book (p 210), that she didn't want this "big, heavy God", all-powerful, all-knowing, full of loving-kindness, because she didn't think He had protected them in the past. She preferred her imaginary friend, whom she's had in her head for years and who always seems to give her good advice. I think it's a good book for middle-grades and up, but you would probably want to discuss that part with a child - or even skip it if you read it aloud.

[Ginny Messina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten-year-old Willow cares for her difficult little brother Twig in a world of drug abuse, poverty and abandonment. The help she finds makes for a far sunnier outcome than most kids in a similar situation can ever hope for, but it’s still a painfully honest view of how some children are forced to live. And the fact that Willow finds a safe home helps to temper some of the harsh circumstances that elementary school children read about in this book.

[Maggie Shanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do you do when your mother is missing? When the old lady who watches after you dies? What do you do when your brother is 4 years old and cannot communicate? Who will watch out for you, who will protect you from life on the streets? This is a story of two siblings Willow and Twig on their own and on the move.

[ERINO · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVVVEEEE THIS BOOK!! it was so incredibly heartwarming and amazing!!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked it, my favorite is red mouse ^_^

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough, real book, but also i think gentle enough for kids. I also love that the "bushel and a peck" song is in it, as my mom and i sing the chorus to each other;)

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I say this book is more a three and a half. It wasn't my favourite book. I didn't love it, but I did like it.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Little is one of my favourite Canadian authors. An exceptional story of the lives of children some which we do not see or pay attention to.

[Darilynn Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. Highly recommend it to all.