Part 2: Wrapping it up with Hattie

I met with my young 'student' today to wind up our adventure into reading Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. We agreed that we liked Hattie and enjoyed her story. 

Before we could truly close the covers on Hattie, though, we each wrote a five-sentence summary of the book. My summary addressed the hardships that Hattie faced and how she dealt with so many obstacles. However, Sue, focused her summary more on Hattie's relationship with the Mueller family, her neighbors.

I found that interesting. We talked about the differences in what we each considered the main idea of the book. Whereas I enjoy books that are plot driven, she likes the exploration of the characters and how they relate to each other.

We then wrote a short piece about our feelings toward Hattie. Once again, I admired Hattie's perseverance and resourcefulness in facing obstacles and her courage in reinventing herself, while Sue was impressed by her big heart in caring for the neighbor family when the influenza epidemic struck. 

Well, there you have it...the reason there are as many types of books as there are readers and perhaps why there are so many book club members who gather to discuss plots and characters and share their points of view.