"I am desolate," Lydia Pierce declares to her diary on her birthday, Oct. 4, 1918, because the motion-picture houses have been closed due to Spanish flu. In short order, she has great cause for desolation: Her parents and baby sister have all died, and she and her brother have been deposited with the community of Shakers at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, where in accordance with Shaker custom they are separated by gender and forced to relinquish their personal possessions. But Chosen Land is a balm to Lydia's spirit, and she adjusts quickly to the rhythms of life there. Working within the confines of the Dear America format, Lowry pens a tender, affecting portrait of a devout community in transition—one tenet of the Shaker creed is celibacy. The Sisters and Brothers emerge a little on the saintly side, but the author endows them with enough humanity that readers will join in Lydia's concern for their continued prosperity. As befits the setting and subject, the narrative is simple and heartfelt, presenting a snapshot of a unique American community. (historical note, photographs)(Historical fiction. 8-12)
Two-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series!Two-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series!Suddenly orphaned by the Spanish flu epidemic in the fall of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother, Daniel, of Portland, Maine, are taken by their uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the Shakers' unfamiliar way of life, Lydia must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know.Now separated from her beloved brother, for men and women do not mix in this community, Lydia must adjust to many changes. But in time, and with her courageous spirit, she learns to find the joy in life again.
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Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine, 1918 (Dear America Series)
Two-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series!Two-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series!Suddenly orphaned by the Spanish flu epidemic in the fall of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother, Daniel, of Portland, Maine, are taken by their uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the Shakers' unfamiliar way of life, Lydia must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know.Now separated from her beloved brother, for men and women do not mix in this community, Lydia must adjust to many changes. But in time, and with her courageous spirit, she learns to find the joy in life again.
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Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine, 1918 (Dear America Series)
Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine, 1918 (Dear America Series)
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169847475 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Scholastic, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 01/01/2011 |
| Series: | Dear America Series |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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