Books with title Under the Willow

The green willow branch has always been a symbol of good luck and safety in China. Instead of a farewell gift, the person who goes on a journey is given a branch of green willow to take along. The author uses the magic of words to imagine how her six grandchildren might spend their time under the green willow tree. This little verse with ten vividly colored illustrations will delight both children and adults.

Marie Colvin, described as "the greatest war correspondent of her generation," was killed in a rocket attack in February 2012 while reporting on the desperate suffering of civilians inside Syria's besieged Homs. Paul Conroy, who had forged a close bond with Colvin as they put their lives on the line time and time again to report from some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones, was with her. Under the Wire is Paul's gripping, visceral and moving account of their friendship, and in particular, the final year he spent alongside Marie.When Marie and Paul were smuggled into Syria by rebel forces, they found themselves trapped in one of the most hellish neighborhoods on earth. Fierce barrages of heavy artillery fire rained down on the buildings surrounding them, killing and maiming hundreds of civilians. Marie was killed by a rocket which also blew hole in Paul's thigh, big enough to put his hand through. Bleeding profusely, short of food and water and in excruciating pain, Paul then endured five days of intense bombardment before being evacuated in a daring escape involving a motorbike ride through a tunnel, crawling through enemy terrain, and finally climbing a 12-foot-high wall.Astonishingly vivid, heart-stoppingly dramatic and shot through with the darkest of humor, in Under the Wire Paul Conroy shows what it means to a be a war reporter in the 21st century. His is a story of two brave people drawn together by a shared compulsion to bear witness.

"There is a place I know, says the sun, where ducks and ducklings, turtles, trout, catfish with whiskers, and young eels, all crowd together in the water under a willow tree waiting for crumbs. The duck kick the turtles out of the way, the catfish bite the duck's toes, the trout whisk a crumb away before the others see it, the little eels try to take the food out of the turtles' horny beaks. There they all are, in the clear water, under the green willow."

When Reid Widmark's jockey mother takes a fall, their barn and the horses they train become Reid's responsibility. He's fine with it: he was practically born on a horse, and he's always been his mother's right-hand man. He'll hold the fort until she returns, and then he'll be back on track toward his own future as a jockey. Or so he thinks. Bit by bit, his life starts changing. People he thought were friends start taking over. His leg up on Carmina, the best horse in his mother's barn and his chance at the big stakes, is taken away. And when his mother comes back, she drops a bombshell: she's getting out of the jockey business and wants Reid to get out too. Reid's steaming mad and ready to take off when his new friend Ella steps in. She helps him see reason ―then spots a big chance that may give Reid everything he's dreamed of. Can he prove to everyone―his mother, their friends and this unknown horse and her owners―that Reid Widmark's got what it takes to get in first under the wire?