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Summary
Summary
Mr. Larch is not a very neighborly neighbor. He never has any visitors. His gray, gloomy house never has any decorations. He avoids everyone and everyone avoids him. But now Mr. Larch has a new neighbor. Willow and her family have moved into the bright yellow house directly across the street. Willow loves her new house and neighborhood. She loves the summer and planting her garden. She loves the fall and sharing vegetables with her neighbors. And when winter arrives, she loves that, too. She can't wait for the first snowfall because she has found the perfect hill for sledding. And it's right behind Mr. Larch's house. Can Willow melt his cold heart in time to enjoy a Snow Day? Denise Brennan-Nelson's books with Sleeping Bear Press include the Likes to Say series, Someday Is Not a Day of the Week, and Buzzy the bumblebee. As a national speaker, she travels the country sharing her reading and writing enthusiasm with schoolchildren and teachers. Denise lives in Howell, Michigan. Cyd Moore studied graphic design and fine arts at the University of Georgia. Her work includes posters, billboards, books, and newspaper and magazine articles. In addition to Willow, Cyd is the illustrator of more than 35 books, including the Stinky Face series. She lives in Commerce, Michigan.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-The girl with the "Pollyanna-can-do" attitude introduced in Willow (Sleeping Bear, 2008) returns in this picture book. New in a neighborhood inhabited by dour and off-putting Mr. Larch, she blithely settles in, asking neighbors for seedlings for her garden, sharing its produce, soliciting donations for the school's hat-and-mitten drive and, finally, during a warm winter, asking for her neighbors' help in getting snow. She receives an anonymous note in return, with a series of silly instructions that she is asked to share widely to get results. Sure enough, the next forecast for snow results in children and adults dancing, taping pennies to doors, and wearing pajamas inside out and backwards as they hope for some precipitation. The next morning dawns to a snow day, and a now-smiling Mr. Larch is revealed as the man behind the note. The bright watercolor and pencil illustrations echo the mood of the upbeat, wiggly-haired protagonist. This longish story can be shared one-on-one or read independently. Kids will find inspiration in their own power to make changes after reading about the resilient Willow.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this feel-good follow-up to Willow (2008), the vivacious girl moves into a new neighborhood, across the street from an unsmiling loner. Mr. Larch only communicates through signs he posts in winter "that made it clear to the neighborhood kids there would be no sledding on his hill." Brimming with details, Moore's cheerful pictures capture Willow's outsize personality as, with Pollyanna-like enthusiasm, she launches projects that bring the neighborhood together. She asks for donations of seeds to plant a garden and, when it blooms, brings bouquets to her neighbors, "even Mr. Larch." She then gives vegetables away to those donating mittens and hats to her school's charity drive. After she distributes letters asking for wintertime assistance ("I'm in need of snow! Can you help?"), one anonymous response provides whimsical instructions for encouraging snow to fall. The story is on the oversweet side (the lack of snow is Willow's sole problem), and Moore provides a few visual hints that Willow's actions are having a warming effect on Mr. Larch. When snow arrives, he is the first one to sled down his hill. Ages 6-10. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When Willow and her family move to a new neighborhood, she involves everyone--including reclusive Mr. Larch--in gardening activities and the school charity drive. As spring and summer pass, the neighbors are asked to help Willow, who's "in need of snow!" Larch's turnaround strains credulity in this second feel-good story starring Willow. Detailed illustrations extend the text. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Willow, a friendly little do-gooder, moves into a new neighborhood unaware that in the gray house lives Mr. Larch, whose main occupation seems to be getting kids to stay away. Busy Willow spends the spring planting a vegetable garden, the summer sharing the results with her neighbors, and the fall collecting mittens and scarves for a charity drive. She tries to make sure Mr. Larch is always included, but he is more suspicious than pleased. Ever since Willow arrived in the neighborhood, she has been looking forward to playing in the snow, but as winter passes, it takes a crazy (and mysterious!) note with a recipe for a snow dance to encourage the flakes to fall. Who could have sent it? Both parents and teachers will appreciate the book's many messages about sharing, friendship, and reaching out to the community. Moore's watercolors pull every perfect moment out of the story. Sometimes the pages are filled edge to edge with all the goings-on, but the book never seems crowded, just pleasantly busy. Fun and something to think about.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist