Like The Willow Tree

The heartfelt and moving story of a young girl living through the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918, now with a 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.

Eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her older brother, Daniel, are made 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. With her courageous spirit, Lydia learns to overcome the devastation wrought by the Spanish flu pandemic and find 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 resonates more than ever before. In the face of COVID-19, readers are likely to find comfort in Lydia's sense of hopefulness.