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Lily's Crossing #2
Willow Run
1944
Meggie Dillon’s life has been turned upside down by World War II. Her older brother Eddie enlisted and was shipped off to fight in Europe. And people say that anywhere else Grandpa would be turned in because he’s German, and people might think he’s a spy. Is it true? Could Grandpa be taken away?
Meggie’s father has announced that they must help the war effort and move to Willow Run, Michigan, where he’ll work nights in a factory building important war planes that will help fight the enemy in Europe. Willow Run will be the greatest adventure ever, Meggie thinks. There she meets Patches and Harlan, other kids like her whose parents have come here to do their part in the war. And there she faces questions about courage, and what it takes to go into battle, like Eddie, and how to keep hope alive on the home front.
Meggie Dillon’s life has been turned upside down by World War II. Her older brother Eddie enlisted and was shipped off to fight in Europe. And people say that anywhere else Grandpa would be turned in because he’s German, and people might think he’s a spy. Is it true? Could Grandpa be taken away?
Meggie’s father has announced that they must help the war effort and move to Willow Run, Michigan, where he’ll work nights in a factory building important war planes that will help fight the enemy in Europe. Willow Run will be the greatest adventure ever, Meggie thinks. There she meets Patches and Harlan, other kids like her whose parents have come here to do their part in the war. And there she faces questions about courage, and what it takes to go into battle, like Eddie, and how to keep hope alive on the home front.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Patricia Reilly Giff
190 books472 followersPatricia Reilly Giff was an American author and educator whose warm, emotionally resonant books made her a beloved figure in children's literature. After spending roughly two decades as a teacher, she turned to writing and brought a deep understanding of young readers to stories that balanced humor, resilience, and emotional truth. Educated at Marymount Manhattan College, St. John's University, and Hofstra University, she drew on both her classroom experience and literary instincts to create memorable fiction for children and middle-grade readers. She became especially well known for the popular Polk Street School series, which captured the everyday dramas of school life with charm and empathy. Beyond those books, she wrote acclaimed novels such as Lily's Crossing, Nory Ryan's Song, Pictures of Hollis Woods, Eleven, and Genevieve's War, often exploring themes of belonging, family, hardship, and courage. Her work earned wide recognition, including Newbery Honors, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults designation, and a Christopher Award. Giff also influenced younger writers through her workshops and teaching spirit. Throughout her career, she remained a compassionate literary voice whose stories spoke directly to children's fears, hopes, and imaginations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
August 27, 2013
I live just a few miles from the real-life Willow Run Plant, so this book has special meaning for me just for that. Add to that the fact that while I was reading it, I learned that the plant had just been scheduled for demolition. So this book has very special meaning to me even before reading it.
But the book would be empty for me without depth and meaning. I am a lover of great children's and young adult novels, and a little after starting the book, I asked myself, "How deep and meaningful can a children's book about World War II be, if it's 'only' written from a civilian child's point of view?" Well, I was answered in a very good way.
I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by Staci Snell. Three times. Patricia Reilly Giff makes the everyday life come alive through Meggie's eyes and thoughts, and there are very brave things, very frightening things, and very new things about the world and life, that she goes through.
Thanks to the Internet I was able to look up the culture points (songs, radio shows, maps, and even the photographs, both aerial and everyday) of Willow Run and America in the 1940s.
This book was instrumental in me becoming a part of the present (as of this review) effort to raise money to preserve the final bay and bay doors where the B-24s rolled out of the Willow Run Plant and onto the airfield. If successful the final bay will become the new home of the Yankee Air Museum, which is presently on the opposite side of the airfield.
Also if the effort is successful, the Smithsonian will arrange for the delivery of the last surviving Willow Run B-24 on American soil from its present museum to the Yankee Air Museum.
As part of this effort and increasing local awareness, I have bought dozens of copies of this book to leave at the local public libraries for children and adults to take one free.
But the book would be empty for me without depth and meaning. I am a lover of great children's and young adult novels, and a little after starting the book, I asked myself, "How deep and meaningful can a children's book about World War II be, if it's 'only' written from a civilian child's point of view?" Well, I was answered in a very good way.
I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by Staci Snell. Three times. Patricia Reilly Giff makes the everyday life come alive through Meggie's eyes and thoughts, and there are very brave things, very frightening things, and very new things about the world and life, that she goes through.
Thanks to the Internet I was able to look up the culture points (songs, radio shows, maps, and even the photographs, both aerial and everyday) of Willow Run and America in the 1940s.
This book was instrumental in me becoming a part of the present (as of this review) effort to raise money to preserve the final bay and bay doors where the B-24s rolled out of the Willow Run Plant and onto the airfield. If successful the final bay will become the new home of the Yankee Air Museum, which is presently on the opposite side of the airfield.
Also if the effort is successful, the Smithsonian will arrange for the delivery of the last surviving Willow Run B-24 on American soil from its present museum to the Yankee Air Museum.
As part of this effort and increasing local awareness, I have bought dozens of copies of this book to leave at the local public libraries for children and adults to take one free.
August 8, 2013
It is the summer of 1944 in Rockaway, New York and twelve year old Meggie Dillon's older brother Eddie is in the army and fighting somewhere in Europe. Meggie spends much of her time doing things with her German-born Grandpa, even though he sometimes annoys with her by always calling her Margaret, not Meggie and when he always gets the letters V and W mixed up when he speaks, plus he always talks during a movie.
So when her parents tell Meggie they will be temporarily moving ("for the duration") to a place called Willow Run, far from Rockaway, so her father can build B-24's for the war effort, she is somewhat relived to find out that Grandpa won't be coming along. She had just caught two boys painting a red swastika on Grandpa's window, calling him a Nazi spy and telling Meggie that if he lived anywhere else but Rockaway something terrible would probably happen to him. Worried, she rubbed the swastika off with a rag and turpentine so her Grandpa wouldn't see it.
No sooner does the Dillon family arrive in Willow Run, Michigan than Meggie begins to miss home - tending the garden with Grandpa, her best friend Lily, the sound and smell of the ocean right outside her door. But Meggie soon makes friends with Patches from Tennessee, Harlan from Detroit and Arnold, the ice cream guy who Harlan thinks is a German spy and from whom the kids figure out how to steal ice cream when he locks up his truck.
But then comes the news that Eddie is missing in action after the Normandy invasion and the Dillon's world seems to collapse. In the midst of all their sorrow, Meggie receives a package from Grandpa containing his most cherished possession - his Victory medal from World War I. As Meggie begins to learn the truth about Patches' life before Willow Run and Arnold's demons, and witnesses her parents grief over Eddie as well has her own, she begins to understand what is most important in the world and hatches a plan to help herself and her parents.
Patricia Reilly Giff continues the story of Meggie and Lilly in Willow Run that she began in Lilly's Crossing, which I probably should have read first, but didn't. Yet, somehow I don't think that will really matter in the long run, however since Lilly plays a very minor role in Willow Run, which is definitely a stand alone novel.
Meggie is an engaging down-to-earth narrator in this quiet coming of age novel. When Eddie had joined the army, he told Meggie now she was an only child, no longer the baby. And when she left Rockaway, she was indeed still quite immature. But it is her experiences in Willow Run and having to deal with such different new realities and events that turn Eddie's word into truth.
The reality of war was a part of home front life for many kids during WWII and in Willow Run, Giff has given us a different version of that life by taking Meggie out of her familiar circumstances and placing her in a place place created specifically for the war, where she can meet other people from circumstances very different from her own. It is a situation where people become friends quickly and help each other out, understanding that they are all in the same boat with shared fears, hopes and dreams.
And Giff has captured some wonderful bits of home front life, like the rag curlers worn by a neighbor, the contests for things life Hot-O-Soup that Meggie and Grandpa are constantly entering, Meggie's vow to never eat Spam again after the war (my mom made the same vow and never did eat it again). All serve to give this well-written, thoughtful work of historical fiction a sense of authenticity.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
Willow Run, Michigan was an actual place, a village and plant for making B-24 bombers, built by Henry Ford during the war. The housing was slapped together quickly and was exactly as Meggie describes:
A kindergarten kid could have drawn it: a long low box that stretched from one end of the paper to the other, no paint, no color. And if you divided the box into tiny sections, each family would have one to live in. Worst of all, there was no grass, nothing growing, only tree stumps... (pg33)
You can see photos of and find out more about Willow Run in WW@ at Willow Run Village
This review was originally posted at The Children's War
So when her parents tell Meggie they will be temporarily moving ("for the duration") to a place called Willow Run, far from Rockaway, so her father can build B-24's for the war effort, she is somewhat relived to find out that Grandpa won't be coming along. She had just caught two boys painting a red swastika on Grandpa's window, calling him a Nazi spy and telling Meggie that if he lived anywhere else but Rockaway something terrible would probably happen to him. Worried, she rubbed the swastika off with a rag and turpentine so her Grandpa wouldn't see it.
No sooner does the Dillon family arrive in Willow Run, Michigan than Meggie begins to miss home - tending the garden with Grandpa, her best friend Lily, the sound and smell of the ocean right outside her door. But Meggie soon makes friends with Patches from Tennessee, Harlan from Detroit and Arnold, the ice cream guy who Harlan thinks is a German spy and from whom the kids figure out how to steal ice cream when he locks up his truck.
But then comes the news that Eddie is missing in action after the Normandy invasion and the Dillon's world seems to collapse. In the midst of all their sorrow, Meggie receives a package from Grandpa containing his most cherished possession - his Victory medal from World War I. As Meggie begins to learn the truth about Patches' life before Willow Run and Arnold's demons, and witnesses her parents grief over Eddie as well has her own, she begins to understand what is most important in the world and hatches a plan to help herself and her parents.
Patricia Reilly Giff continues the story of Meggie and Lilly in Willow Run that she began in Lilly's Crossing, which I probably should have read first, but didn't. Yet, somehow I don't think that will really matter in the long run, however since Lilly plays a very minor role in Willow Run, which is definitely a stand alone novel.
Meggie is an engaging down-to-earth narrator in this quiet coming of age novel. When Eddie had joined the army, he told Meggie now she was an only child, no longer the baby. And when she left Rockaway, she was indeed still quite immature. But it is her experiences in Willow Run and having to deal with such different new realities and events that turn Eddie's word into truth.
The reality of war was a part of home front life for many kids during WWII and in Willow Run, Giff has given us a different version of that life by taking Meggie out of her familiar circumstances and placing her in a place place created specifically for the war, where she can meet other people from circumstances very different from her own. It is a situation where people become friends quickly and help each other out, understanding that they are all in the same boat with shared fears, hopes and dreams.
And Giff has captured some wonderful bits of home front life, like the rag curlers worn by a neighbor, the contests for things life Hot-O-Soup that Meggie and Grandpa are constantly entering, Meggie's vow to never eat Spam again after the war (my mom made the same vow and never did eat it again). All serve to give this well-written, thoughtful work of historical fiction a sense of authenticity.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
Willow Run, Michigan was an actual place, a village and plant for making B-24 bombers, built by Henry Ford during the war. The housing was slapped together quickly and was exactly as Meggie describes:
A kindergarten kid could have drawn it: a long low box that stretched from one end of the paper to the other, no paint, no color. And if you divided the box into tiny sections, each family would have one to live in. Worst of all, there was no grass, nothing growing, only tree stumps... (pg33)
You can see photos of and find out more about Willow Run in WW@ at Willow Run Village
This review was originally posted at The Children's War
March 18, 2019
This book is lovely. I'm actually not surprised that it stood the test of time for me. I'm not sure how accurate all of this information is, but I think it's a very educational look at the climate of the United States during world war two. It's simple enough for children to get the point across without being entirely graphic. Even now, I see how each character develops over the time that they have to stay in their residential area.
I'm not the target demographic for this, so I can't really be upset at things being rushed or cliches getting thrown at me. It's a nice story and that's gonna have to be enough for me.
I'm not the target demographic for this, so I can't really be upset at things being rushed or cliches getting thrown at me. It's a nice story and that's gonna have to be enough for me.
December 7, 2024
I absolutely love Giff’s writings!!! Excellent story based upon real historic events set back in the 1940’s. Now I am extra curious as to why there wasn’t a third book in this series?!?!
July 20, 2008
Meggie and her family move to Willow Run, MI from Rockaway Beach where her parents work in a bomber factory. Her brother, Eddie joined up and is M.I.A. after Normandy. She makes new friends, and realizes that while this is a worse situation for her, it's a better situation for others. This is really more of a mood piece than a "story" although it for sure has a plot. A good war story for young girls.
January 7, 2014
(3.5) Sweet, but too brief. This felt as if it were a bit of a sprawling short story to me; it was missing some dynamics and flesh of a novel. From other reviews, I understand it's a companion book to Lily's Crossing, so I suppose my reading list has now gotten bigger. I do get the sense that this is part of something bigger, that perhaps this could be in a sequence, that there needs to be a book this size on either end to round things out.
April 9, 2010
Violet's reading page: http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/swe...
May 30, 2017
If it were an option, I would rate Willow Run 3.5 instead. A sweet and easy read that kids will enjoy, but as a "grown-up" there were areas it fell short for me.
I grew up with a used, and further well-loved paperback of Lily's Crossing. Anytime I ran out of new books from the library, I came back to it because it felt like home. I had no idea there was a companion novel until I stumbled upon Willow Run a few weeks ago and was overjoyed. But even as a now 21 year old, having not read Lily's Crossing for some time, I easily noticed that Willow Run does not link up properly. The first and most evident being that Margaret states that she hates to be called "Margaret" by her Grandfather, and that everyone else calls her "Meggie." And yet, throughout Lily's Crossing, Lily always refers to her as Margaret.
But as a stand alone, there are not enough descriptions of the characters to feel you know them, the story line doesn't heighten much, and the ending leaves many loose ends and few conclusions. As a companion and not a sequel, I should have expected I still would not learn the fate of certain characters.
Overall, if you enjoy Patricia Reilly Giff as I do, or you're a middle grade reader, this is a perfect book to spend time with. But if you are choosing your first Giff book to read, I highly suggest her Newbery Honor-Winning titles over Willow Run.
I grew up with a used, and further well-loved paperback of Lily's Crossing. Anytime I ran out of new books from the library, I came back to it because it felt like home. I had no idea there was a companion novel until I stumbled upon Willow Run a few weeks ago and was overjoyed. But even as a now 21 year old, having not read Lily's Crossing for some time, I easily noticed that Willow Run does not link up properly. The first and most evident being that Margaret states that she hates to be called "Margaret" by her Grandfather, and that everyone else calls her "Meggie." And yet, throughout Lily's Crossing, Lily always refers to her as Margaret.
But as a stand alone, there are not enough descriptions of the characters to feel you know them, the story line doesn't heighten much, and the ending leaves many loose ends and few conclusions. As a companion and not a sequel, I should have expected I still would not learn the fate of certain characters.
Overall, if you enjoy Patricia Reilly Giff as I do, or you're a middle grade reader, this is a perfect book to spend time with. But if you are choosing your first Giff book to read, I highly suggest her Newbery Honor-Winning titles over Willow Run.
March 3, 2021
3.5 stars
"You must have been brave to get this," I said.
Grandpa leaned over my shoulder and touched the angel on the front. "It's the other way around. It reminds me to be brave when I need to be." He stared out the window. "You have to dig deep before you judge a person," he said absently. "What do people say? You can't tell a book by its cover."
I loved Meggie's story! I love her passion for writing into contests, her love and fierce loyalty to her family. It felt all to short, but it was such a sweet read. I even teared up a few times.
I just didn't like the ending. It left me with questions, but I guess that is what many of these people faced during the war, unanswered questions.
"You must have been brave to get this," I said.
Grandpa leaned over my shoulder and touched the angel on the front. "It's the other way around. It reminds me to be brave when I need to be." He stared out the window. "You have to dig deep before you judge a person," he said absently. "What do people say? You can't tell a book by its cover."
I loved Meggie's story! I love her passion for writing into contests, her love and fierce loyalty to her family. It felt all to short, but it was such a sweet read. I even teared up a few times.
I just didn't like the ending. It left me with questions, but I guess that is what many of these people faced during the war, unanswered questions.
October 17, 2026
Willow Run is about World War II on the "Homefront" from the point of view of an 11 year old girl. Meggie and her parents move to a factory town to do their part, while her older brother is fighting in Europe, and her grandfather stays in New York to be harassed because of his German accent. Meggie is bored and lonely and scared.
The history is interesting. The paranoia about spies was something I hadn't seen in a YA/middle grade World War II novel before. The story itself was fine - good enough to make me curious about Lily's Crossing, a companion to this novel.
January 23, 2022
I felt like there were a few inconsistencies between this story and the last where they overlapped, but overall they fit together well. This book and it's prequel take place at the same time, starting together but then following Lily's friend, Meggie, as her and her family leave behind Rockaway for her dad to work in a factory to support the war efforts. The story centers around the lives of her and her friends and how the war effects each of them (especially Meggie, whose brother off fighting in the war). I would have liked more of an ending. The story is left with questions of who makes it back from the war or how the families get along after.
April 17, 2018
Alright, I've found another book I want for my class-set room! Now, if I can only convince others to jump into this book too. I don't know if I loved it because I love Giff, if I loved the story, or if it's because I watched that Canadian show Bomb Girls on Netflix.
It's a petite book that lightly shows how children's lives were interrupted during WWII, but doesn't trivialize what they are going through. It leaves plenty of room for discussions. I'd say perfect to do with a 3rd or 4th grade.
It's a petite book that lightly shows how children's lives were interrupted during WWII, but doesn't trivialize what they are going through. It leaves plenty of room for discussions. I'd say perfect to do with a 3rd or 4th grade.
November 4, 2025
Reread, but it had been many many many years (this is sort of a companion book to Lily’s Crossing). Sweet book with that certain subtle kind of gut punch that Patricia Reilly Giff just knows how to sneak up on you with. A lot of it felt very pertinent right now, too.
—
“We have to keep thinking of places like this. Things growing, reaching for the sky, instead of being torn down.”
—
“We have to do what we think is right, no matter how hard it is.”
—
“Being missing wasn’t the same as being lost.”
—
“We have to do things for each other. That’s the only way the wars might stop.”
—
“We have to keep thinking of places like this. Things growing, reaching for the sky, instead of being torn down.”
—
“We have to do what we think is right, no matter how hard it is.”
—
“Being missing wasn’t the same as being lost.”
—
“We have to do things for each other. That’s the only way the wars might stop.”
November 1, 2019
Meggie's brother is fighting in the war. Meggie's family moves to a town that has sprung up around a bomber factory, so that her father can work in the factory, to do his part to support the war effort. Meggie's friends are other such transplants, from different places. Meggie worries over her brother and learns important lessons regarding integrity. A well-told, simple story.
May 13, 2020
World War II and "Megs" brother has joined the army. Her grandpa is a US Citizen who moved from Germany years before. Her dad gets a job in the Ford Factory building B52's. This is a good gently introduction to WWII. Sad. I still loved it. I can never read enough about WWII. Great for elementary age (4-5th)
December 30, 2021
To start with disclaimer, I am not in the intended audience age group for this book. This is a nice enough book and readable, but slight on the Willow Run factory itself with more on the worker housing. There isn't really much to this book and the personal drama is ok but not that absorbing. Overall the book is ok, not very good and not poor.
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September 16, 2022This book was the perfect follow-up to Lily's Crossing. My daughter had to read Lily's Crossing for her summer reading and requested to read Willow Run. Her only complaint when I read the last page was, "what happened to Eddie?" She was disappointed that we did not get a definite answer in the case of Eddie.
May 2, 2025
I love this book. It's simple and very easy to understand.I think this is a great book to read as a teen because I myself am one and it really shifted my perspective on many things.The book made me cry a little as Meggie talks about her brother and its a very wholesome book.I definitely recommend this book and its not a long read.
July 3, 2017
I enjoyed this book. and I think you should read it. My favorite part was probably when they go to Willow Run and Meggie makes new friends there. But you should read the book Lily's Crossing first by the same author. I really like this book 😇I think you should read it.👍🏼. --Whitney
March 10, 2018
i thought it was brave of meggie to deal with all her problems during ww2. she had already gone through so much an i liked the way she handled everything also how she dealt with leaving her best friend and grandpa.
August 7, 2018
Patricia Reilly Giff is one of my favorite middle grade authors. She is able to bring the past alive with engaging characters and fascinating stories. I find her very engaging and I thoroughly enjoy all her books.
May 8, 2017
i love this book and it was very inspratinal
January 25, 2018
A realistic view of WW II, from those who are left home to worry and wait for news.
February 22, 2018
We owe our freedom to people like Meggie!
April 19, 2018
Another sweet story with well-defined characters from Patricia Reilly Giff. I particularly enjoy historical fiction, and this book, set during World War II, was very satisfying.
June 29, 2018
not very good
July 25, 2018
This book was so beautiful. A story of how WWII changed lives, and a young girl understanding the love of family and friends.
March 27, 2019
3.5? I really just had a hard time connecting to the main character, but I did enjoy the ending.
November 16, 2019
Ah I loved this!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews