Diamond WIllow

ISBN-13: 978-0374317768
Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Frances Foster Books / Macmillan
April 1, 2008
128 pages, ages 8-12

Set in the fictional town of Old Fork, in interior Alaska, Diamond Willow tells the story of 12-year-old Willow, a dogmusher, and her lead dog, Roxy. The story is told in diamond-shaped poems in Willow’s voice, with prose sections in the voices of animal characters who have knowledge of the past and offer protection in times of danger.

A poem from the book:

If you are reading on a mobile device, please turn it to the side when you read this poem.

I
was
named
after a stick.
The way Mom tells it,
she couldn’t get Dad to agree
on any names: Ellen, after Grandma?
Sally after Dad’s great aunt in Michigan?
No, he wanted something modern, something
meaningful. It will come to us, Dad kept saying.
Let’s hope it comes before the baby learns to walk,
said Mom.  Always does, said Dad. That’s how they
argue, each knows what they want, but neither seems
to think it matters much who wins. Since Mom gives
in before Dad most of the time, Dad gets his way a lot.
He told me that just before I was born, he found a small
stand of diamond willow and brought home one stick.
That’s it! Let’s name our baby Diamond Willow!
Mom had to think about it for a few days.
I can see it now: They’re on the airplane
flying to Anchorage. Mom’s in labor,
she’ll agree to almost anything.
Okay, she says. So Dad puts
Diamond Willow on my
birth certificate, and
then Mom says,
We will call 
the baby
Willow.

Read the first 16 pages of Diamond Willow, find a discussion guide, reviews, and more on the Macmillan website.

Perceptive readers who have read The Braid might catch a glimpse of Jeannie on the cover and in the pages of Diamond Willow, where she appears as a spruce hen named Jean.

As I was imagining Old Fork, I remembered the three years I lived in Telida, Alaska, and the friends I met there.

Special Appreciation

Anita Silvey features DIAMOND WILLOW on her Book-a-Day Almanac

Teri Lesesne discusses it here.

Book trailer for Diamond Willow created by Julia Vandiver in Sylvia Vardell’s class.

Honors and Awards

  • 2009 Lee Bennett Hopkins Children’s Poetry Award
  • Michigan Library Association Mitten 2008 Mitten Award
  • The Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry: 2009 Honor Book
  • 2009 Winner of Best Books of Indiana, Children and Young Adults
  • 2009 CCBC Choices
  • Indie Next Kids’ List Great Read
  • Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Finalist
  • Bank Street List of Best Children’s Books
  • Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens

State Reading Lists

  • 2018-2019 Bluestem Award (Illinois) grades 3-5
  • 2012-2013 Maud Hart Lovelace Award list, grades 3-5 and 6-8
  • 2011-2012 Alaska Battle of the Books
  • 2011-2012 several Michigan communities: Battle of the Books
  • 2011 Sasquatch Award (Washington)
  • 2010-2011 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (Georgia)
  • 2011 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award nominee
  • 2011 Oregon Battle of the Books
  • 2009 Texas Lone Star Reading List
  • 2010-2011 William Allen White Children’s Book Awards Master List, grades 6-8 (Kansas)
  • 2009-2010 Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Master List
  • 2009-2010 Keystone to Reading Book Award Master LIst (Pennsylvania)
  • Nominated for Iowa Children’s Choice Awards
  • Nominated for Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware)
  • 2010 North Carolina Children’s Book Award Master List
  • Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Award Nominee (Illinois)
  • 2011 Hawaii Nene Award Master List
  • 2010 Black-Eyed Susan nominee (Maryland)

Quotes from Reviews

“My kids absolutely adored your book, Diamond Willow. It was the impetus that helped one of my students, Ben, learn to read better and with a passion. Always a reluctant reader, he could not wait to read aloud your words in class. His unsure reading voice suddenly took a whole new dimension…filled with emotion, spirit and excitement. We actually cheered as Benny read your words.” —Jeanette Feifarek, 3rd grade teacher

“Frost invents an ingenious poetic form for her story that is both stable and fluid; like the diamond willow branches that she is imitating, the diamond shapes of her poems vary. . . . Frost has spun metaphoric gold out of an evocative natural landscape, and she knows just how to craft it into an elegant and moving story of a young girl’s deepening understanding of the relationships she shares with those around her.” —Bulletin for Center of Children’s Books (starred)

“This complex and elegant novel will resonate with readers who savor powerful drama and multifaceted characters.” —School Library Journal

“Set in a remote part of Alaska, this story in easy-to-read verse blends exciting survival adventure with a contemporary girl’s discovery of family roots and secrets.” —Booklist

Special Appreciation

Anita Silvey features DIAMOND WILLOW on her Book-a-Day Almanac

Teri Lesesne discusses it here.

Book trailer for Diamond Willow created by Julia Vandiver in Sylvia Vardell’s class.

Honors and Awards

  • 2009 Lee Bennett Hopkins Children’s Poetry Award
  • Michigan Library Association Mitten 2008 Mitten Award
  • The Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry: 2009 Honor Book
  • 2009 Winner of Best Books of Indiana, Children and Young Adults
  • 2009 CCBC Choices
  • Indie Next Kids’ List Great Read
  • Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Finalist
  • Bank Street List of Best Children’s Books
  • Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens

State Reading Lists

  • 2018-2019 Bluestem Award (Illinois) grades 3-5
  • 2012-2013 Maud Hart Lovelace Award list, grades 3-5 and 6-8
  • 2011-2012 Alaska Battle of the Books
  • 2011-2012 several Michigan communities: Battle of the Books
  • 2011 Sasquatch Award (Washington)
  • 2010-2011 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (Georgia)
  • 2011 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award nominee
  • 2011 Oregon Battle of the Books
  • 2009 Texas Lone Star Reading List
  • 2010-2011 William Allen White Children’s Book Awards Master List, grades 6-8 (Kansas)
  • 2009-2010 Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Master List
  • 2009-2010 Keystone to Reading Book Award Master LIst (Pennsylvania)
  • Nominated for Iowa Children’s Choice Awards
  • Nominated for Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware)
  • 2010 North Carolina Children’s Book Award Master List
  • Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Award Nominee (Illinois)
  • 2011 Hawaii Nene Award Master List
  • 2010 Black-Eyed Susan nominee (Maryland)