Worth a Thousand Words is a terrific book for upper middle grade readers! There are some themes (infidelity, divorce, disability, family dysfunction) that are for slightly more mature readers than my 3rd graders. Heavy issues are handled sensitively yet honestly. Tillie’s nickname at school is “Lost and Found” because of her knack for finding things, but the story is really about finding where she herself belongs. I loved her transformation throughout the story as she discovered her own sense of adventure and grit. I hope middle-grade readers can learn from Tillie’s realization that her perception of herself was very different from how others saw her, and that perhaps her perception of others was also incomplete.

Worth a thousand words is an engrossing middle grade novel. Divorce, familial guilt, and friendship troubles are all dealt with so even-handedly. ABC after-school special this is NOT. Deft handling of subject matter aside, the descriptions of photography as a means for communication were well done, making me want to see that photographs!

Most importantly, though, the completely platonic relationship between a boy and girl where neither one of them is identified as "the gay friend" is amazing. It is so rare in youth fiction to see, and I really appreciate that.