Twelve-year-old Willow’s first solo dogsledding trip starts joyfully, with a twelve-mile journey to her grandparents’ cabin. It ends tragically when Rosy, the beloved lead dog, is blinded on the way back home after running into a fallen tree on a curve where Willow failed to slow down. Willow’s shame and guilt turn to anger when she realizes that her parents plan on putting Rosy down. She considers Rosy her friend and confidant, and friendship doesn’t come easily for Willow. Willow also hasn’t given up hope that Rosy will see again. Sure that her grandparents will let Rosy stay with them, Willow enlists the help of her one good friend, Kaylie, to accompany her on another dogsled journey to her grandparents’ place. Poet Helen Frost’s story is set in a fictional town in Alaska’s interior. Willow is part Athabascan, and the spirits of her ancestors, embodied in a host of wild creatures, play a critical role when Willow and Kaylie end up lost in a blizzard. Each of Frost’s narrative, concrete poems—all variations on a diamond shape—have a hidden message emphasized in boldface type. They are the essence of feeling in each poem, just as the animals in Frost’s story are the essence of a loved one. The revelation of a secret kept far too long brings the story to a rich emotional climax that affirms Rosy’s place in Willow’s heart and family and encourages Willow to open her heart to happiness and let others in. (Ages 10–14)

There's
more to me than
most people
see.

Twelve-year-old Willow would rather blend in than stick out. But she still wants to be seen for who she is. She wants her parents to notice that she is growing up. She wants her best friend to like her better than she likes a certain boy. She wants, more than anything, to mush the dogs out to her grandparents' house, by herself, with Roxy in the lead. But sometimes when it's just you, one mistake can have frightening consequences . . . And when Willow stumbles, it takes a surprising group of friends to help her make things right again.

Using diamond-shaped poems inspired by forms found in polished diamond willow sticks, Helen Frost tells the moving story of Willow and her family. Hidden messages within each diamond carry the reader further, into feelings Willow doesn't reveal even to herself.
Diamond Willow is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.