Customer Reviews

The Table Where Rich People Sit (Aladdin Picture Books)

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You may not be able to tell from where you read this, but at this moment in time I am punching myself roundly. Why? For the simple reason that I made a bizarre and irrational assumption about this book when I first heard about it. Picture this... it is 1997 and I'm rooming with a dear hippie friend in a Quaker college dorm. She's describing to me her favorite book: "The Table Where Rich People Sit" by Byrd Baylor. As she explains the plot of the book to me, even (I now sigh) handing me a copy, I jump to what I felt was a logical conclusion. Obviously this book was originally published in the 1970s. After all, it deals with the price of happiness, the glory of the natural environment, and the beauty of the world around us. Flash forward some seven years later and I'm reading "The Table Where Rich People Sit" once again. It is, undoubtedly, a magnificently beautiful book in all respects. Then I flip to the publication page and find the year "1994" staring me in the face. 1994? This book... this lovely free-flowing book about leaving "civilized" society to accept the world on your own terms... this was written in the 1990s? Well there you have it. I made the ridiculous assumption that this tale simply was a part of a larger social upheaval when, in fact, it was a small rebellion in and of itself. My bad. My bad.

In this story Mountain Girl has called a meeting of the members of her family. She lives with her mom, dad, and brother in a home outskirting cliffs, canyons, deserts, and mountains, and it has just occurred to her that they are by no means rich. To make her case, Mountain Girl insists that the family recognize that they are seriously lacking in funds. They own a beat up old truck, wear clothing that's patched, and eat at a table that was constructed out of lumber someone else threw away. Says Morning Girl, "Understand, I like this table fine. All I'm saying is, you can tell it didn't come from a furniture store". She insists that her parents consider getting better paying jobs, possibly in an office building. To prove to their daughter that they are far richer than she may think, they ask her to calculate the price it's worth to work outdoors, say $20,000. Then she adds another $30,000 for the sound of coyotes howling in the hills. That doesn't even include the price of seeing the changing colors on the faraway mountains, or the color of a cactus bloom, or even the beauty of living amongst day and night birds at all times. By the time Morning Girl considers it all, actual money seems to have become a lot less important, and she joins her family for a walk to find the sliver of the new moon in the sky. She pats the table, and the reader comes to understand the title of the book a little better by the end.

Oh it's hippy-dippy all right. No question. But the book is far more practical and spiritual than your run-of-the-mill "love all living creatures" picture books out there. First of all, the main character is only called Mountain Girl because that's the nickname her parents gave her. When she was born they lifted her to the sky just eight minutes after her birth to view the sunrise on the mountainside. You can guess why her brother's nicknamed Ocean Boy. Any practical person reading this story will certainly sympathize with Mountain Girl's attempts to talk some sense into her parents too. While she's talking about practical financial matters (think of her as Alec on "Family Ties") her parents are talking about practical soulful matters. They certainly don't starve and their lives are just as they would want them to be, a fact that initially eludes their eldest daughter. What the book is truly asking is, what price freedom? When do you stop worrying about things that don't matter and grab a hold of the things that really do?

Accompanying this message (one that I think kids have an easier a time of understanding than their parents) are artist Peter Parnall's gorgeous illustrations. Using a fascinating combination of fine line pens and bright vivid watercolors, each picture in this tale is an intricate decision of what to and what not to fill in. The delicate line work here creates rocky craggy cliffs and deep swirling ocean depths. Here, an illustration accompanying text describing the beauty of cactus blooms shows a pair of hovering brown eyes with the barest of outlines creating the impression of hair. In the foreground, a perfectly rendered flower opens up to the opposite page's warming sun. You can find hidden pictures of horses here, or luminous mountain shadows that change from aquamarine to deep forest green. Parnall is intelligent enought to know that the grandeur of nature can only be truly hinted at on the page. Therefore, these are pictures that show snatches of breathtaking beauty in every scene. Every white space here is just as important as every color and shade.

There are people who will pick up this book, scoff at its message (without reading it) and degrade its content sight unseen. There are also people who will read it all the way through and find themselves uncomfortable with its presentation and message. Then there are those who truly believe what the book is saying. They will understand what it teaches, what it implies, and what it means to those kids who read (or are read) it. For them, this book will find its way into their hearts. Even if you don't like it, you must concede its beauty. I suggest you find yourself a copy and snuggle down for a fascinating read. You may be surprised at your own responses.

I checked this book out for my son (4.5 y.o.) at my college's library, and every day since I brought it home, he has wanted me to read it to him. I love this story, personally, because it not only reflects my own values so perfectly, but it has served as a reminder of the really Important Things in life.

Money isn't what counts ~ it's the sunrise... the colors of the shadows on mountains... the feel of squash on hands dusty with earth... the stretch of blue sky overhead. I cannot think of a book that better illustrates these than The Table Where Rich People Sit.

The Table Where Rich People Sit touched my heart. It made me realize that I have more riches than I knew. Simple riches like the colors of Autumn. Mountain Girl didn't understand about her riches either. But by the end of the story she knew that nature and family were the best kind of riches. Read this book so you can realize what your riches are, too.
Brielle age 9 parker, colo.

Mountain Girl complains that her family is poor. They sit at a ramshakle table they made themselves as the family discusses what they do have and discover that they are wealthy beyond belief. They have sunsets, eagles, mountins, etc. A good reminder of what is really important.

The young girl in this story doesn't notice that her family is rich. I think her family is rich because they get to sit under the stars so shiney at night and there is always a shining start of the day in the morning and they get to watch nature grow and on having a family right there for her. And that's how I think she is rich.
Malia... age9

I think this story is wonderful. I think this book has beautiful art.
This book is about a girl who wants to be rich. But what she doesn't know is that she already is rich. But she doesn't have the money to be rich. She has the life to be rich!
Stephanie Bryant... Age8... Parker colo.

I love this book. It was an amazing story. I liked how they called the girl Mountain Girl. But the one thing that I didn't understand is how the parents thought they were rich. But then at the end of the story I understood. It was nature that made them rich. It was priceless...and that made them all special people sitting at their table.
Samantha Morgans..age 10...Parker colo.

This is certainly one of those books that should and will cause the reader, both child and adult, to stop for a moment of reflection. The question here is asked, in a thoughtful, yet mellow way, just what in life is truly important and by inference, what is not. Every so often we adults need to take to take inventory and what a better way to do it than with your child?

This is the story of a little girl; "Mountain Girl," whose parents live in and near the mountains in the South West part of our country. They live a very simple existence, raise their own foods, train horses and do what ever other job comes along...but it MUST be outdoors; they MUST be able to work and live under the open sky! The little girl in our story notices that there are patches on her little brothers pants, that their house is not very nice, their table is hand made and rather run down and their entire image is that of being "poor." During a family meeting she brings this subject up and asked the question "why are we poor." It should be noted at this point that this so called poverty her parents have placed them in is a self imposed poverty; and as the story progresses the question is asked, and answered I might add, as to whether or not the family is indeed poor. Of course each adult and child must answer this question for themselves, but I must say the answer was easy for me to come to as I am a bit like the parents in this story anyway.

What price do you place on a sunset, the image of an eagles nest, listening to the coyotes speak at night, watching an eagle soar, seeing a cactus bloom from bud to finished flower, to hear the wind speaking through the rocks and sand...in general, to have the freedom from the drudgery of working in an office cubicle day after day and chasing after "things?" Is a new cell phone actually more valuable than wildflowers in spring? Are fancy shoes, T.V. sets, expensive cars and the other "things" many of us send a life time chasing more valuable that what there is available to us completely free of charge? We are forced to examine the phenomena of "The Great American Thing Hunt."

The family set around this old table and as I said, takes inventory of their lives with their children, actually putting an arbitrary price tag on all of the things they have.

Now I note that there are a couple of reviewers that have chalked this one up to a short children's story about a family of sort of wacked out hippies...you know, those "back to the land and to heck with civilization" type individuals. No, no, no...this story is about so much more than that. Yes, the author has used a unique set of parents to tell this tale, but the sunsets, natural wonders and simple life are actually available to everyone on one level or another. The message here is that these wonderful things exists and are free for all who want to take advantage of them.

The story is well written, precise and extremely thoughtful. It truly will make you stop and think where you are in your life and where you want to take it in the future. It causes you to ask yourself and ask your children some soul searching questions and in reality sort of puts things in perspective. While the absolute life style these characters have chosen may not be for everyone, never the less the concepts addressed here are certainly worth considering.

With out question the art and illustrations in this work are some of the best. The flaming almost surreal style and colors take a bit to wrap your mind around at first, but after giving them a close look, you will find yourself completely dazzled and amazed. I suppose "haunting" Is the best way to describe the illustrations.

Now even those children growing up in an urban area can glean much from this book. Is an afternoon at a local park watching butterflies or feeding and watching ducks in a local pond worth as much as the cost of the newest video game or latest pair of tennis shoes...or is it worth more?

Highly recommend this one. It is at least worth checking out from your local library.

Don Blankenship

This book show individuals that we are all rich, even in the most ordinary ways.

This book brings tears to my eyes. It reminds me of the benefits of living surrounded by nature and does it in a fun way (through a child's eyes while she's learning the monetary "value" of her life from her parents). I gave this as a gift to several close friends because the message is truly beautiful.