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"Blue Willow" feels like an historical novel about a migrant farming family during the Great Depression, but since it was published in 1940, it was actually written as a contemporary tale.
10-year-old Janey travels with her Dad and step-mother looking for farming work after Dad lost his own farm in the Dust Bowl. At the beginning of the book, they settle into an abandoned shack to live there while Dad harvests cotton. Janey meanwhile, just wants to belong somewhere instead of moving every few weeks. The only possession the family has that she cares about is the Blue Willow Plate - a blue China plate with a Chinese design. The plate is mentioned in the beginning of the book, then seemingly forgotten, but becomes significant again towards the last quarter of the story.
"Blue Willow" is about Janey finding a friend - Lupe Lopez; and a place she wants to stay; a sense of belonging somewhere. It's a slow quiet story, with an unrealistically happy ending (perhaps appropriate, since it's more of an upper elementary book than a middle grades story). ( )

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