We started our discussion of Worth by agreeing that the
writing was quite good....a couple of our members thought it was brilliant. One
mentioned the terrific transitions that described Nate's thinking; another said
it was the first book that had made her cry in a long time. But -- as we talked
more, a couple of people weren't thrilled by the overuse of metaphors, and we
also wondered if kids reading the book would understand the conflict between the
ranchers and the farmers that played such a big part in Nate's and his family's
life. We liked the fact that his parents were 'normal' people: i.e., they
disagreed, they argued, but they loved their son and were each able to show him
that love in their own way. We also liked the way that Nate and John's
relationship developed as they grew to understand each other. It was a great
discussion!
We pretty much had positive feelings about the picture
book....except for a couple of details. One of our members thought that the
'silly cats' weren't really silly, but someone else pointed out that 'silly' to
a child might have a different meaning than it has for an adult. We thought it
was a great read-aloud because of the predictable phrases where children could
join in, and also a good bedtime story, and we liked the illustrations by Jan Jutte. We liked
the way that 'Old Robert,' the seaman who thought he 'had everything he needed'
came to realize that he really needed something to care for. We also thought it
should have ended a page earlier than it actually did.....the ending as
presented in the book seemed useless and unnecessary.
