The Gold Watch - Hardcover

Grade 1-3-- Every Friday little Joey waits for his father to come home from work. As they sit in the big arm chair and talk, the man takes a gold watch from his pocket and Joey guesses the time. ``Right on the nose,'' his father always says and then gives him a prize--always the same--a cellophane-wrapped candy ball. One day his father comes home and announces that he has lost his job, and the family begins to feel the effects of a loss of income. When Joey's father is forced to pawn the gold watch that his father had given him, the boy exchanges his bike for it. Eventually the man finds another job, and Joey gets his bike back. The single strong point of the story is the portrayal of family ties and the fact that Joey takes the initiative to sacrifice something dear to him in order to recover a beloved object. The book itself fails to convey any of the real feelings of helplessness or anxiety that accompany the loss of a job. The story is told in a bland and simplistic tone, and the cartoonlike illustrations of wistfully smiling people do not match the gravity of the situation. --Alexandra Marris, Rochester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a pared-down style with the nuances of real experience, a mini-novel: After Joey's Dad loses his job, he pawns his watch. Joey tries to buy it back; his pennies are too few, so he offers his bike, which the gruff pawnbroker accepts in trade for the watch. The happy ending (new job, bike returned) may be less familiar to some children than the hard times, but it's satisfying; the cartoon-style illustrations are lively and expressive. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.