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Product Reviews:
The Higher Power of Lucky |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: The Touching Story of an Unlucky Childhood with a Happy Ending
Comments: In this touching story, ten-year-old Lucky overcomes hardships and finds her "higher power." Prudes beware: this book uses the word "scrotum" on the 1st page!! If you dare let your child read it, you may consider blacking out the offensive word before surrendering it to innocent youth. The word is revisited in the last chapter.
For the rest of us, this book is well-deserving of the Newbery award, as it is cute, poignant, and engaging. Although the reading level is appropriate for a 10-year-old, I think almost all youngsters would have difficulty relating to Lucky's hardships and philosophies. However, even if readers do not fully understand what Lucky must feel like, I think the story can educate kids on the kinds of hardships that many children must endure. Such an education engenders an understanding which can break down social barriers at a young, impressionable age.
I would highly endorse this book for 10-year-old and up. |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: Lucky in life, unlikely in logic
Comments: Lucky is an unusual girl, of a sandy brown color from head to toe, who lives in an impoverished little town (population 43) in California with her French foster mother, Bridgette, her parents having divorced, and her mother having died during an electrical storm. Why the (1st) ex-wife of an absent father would agree to care for her ex-husband's second ex-wife's child is never explained (nor probably can it be), however by the time the story begins, Bridgette (basically, her "pre" stepmother) has been mothering Lucky for about2years. Lucky's acquaintances include a young boy infatuated with the P.D. Eastman book, Are You My Mother?, and friends include a knot-tying fanatic named Lincoln. Her favorite pastime is eavesdropping on the stories of the local yokels during their12 Step Program Meetings (for problems ranging from smoking to drinking and ething in between), and her favorite story is that of recovering alcoholic Sammy-how he hit rock bottom, involving a dog being bit on the, ahem, "scrotum" (why the author chooses this word over the obvious, commonly used slang term is also a mystery), a woman arriving on the scene, a trip to the veterinarian, and a divorce. Lucky believes that if she could just find HER "higher power," things would be get better (also weird since she seems to be sort of an evolutionist, a fan of Charles Darwin, she names her dog HMS Beagle because he goes on science explorations with her). When she sees evidence of what appears to be imminent abandonment, she takes drastic measures and runs away during, of all things, a dust storm (again, nonsensical). When found, she's able to salvage the results of her poor decisions by dreaming up, on the spot, a plausible reason for her being where she shouldn't be, that is, lying. The story is short, the tiny illustrations are unremarkable, and the whole12 Step Program angle seems to be a bit advanced for the age of anyone who'd be interested in this easy-to-read however often illogical story. Better: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Anne of Green Gables by by Megan Follows.
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Rating: 1 (out of 5)
Summary: Higher Power of... Wait, Was I Reading Something?
Comments: I read quickly and voraciously. As a children's writer myself, I am interested in reading, analyzing and enjoying kid lit, especially stuff that's winning honors.
This book did not hold any appeal for me. It was about 150 pages and large print and I put it down before I could finish because I did not care about the characters. I did not learn anything about them and I did not much get invested in their stories. there is not much plot, there is not much emotion, there is simply not much here.
I eventually forced myself to pick it back up however looked at the page number e few minutes while I read - how quickly could I finish this dud and move on to something better?
For all the talk of a Higher Power, I did not really figure out what her higher power was at the end. Nor did I care what it was. There is so much out there to read that I am honestly sad that I spent a few miserable hours laboring over this collection of forced, "quirky," humorless events in a lame character's life. The only person who's Lucky in this situation is me, because I am still within the 30-day return window.
It's packed up and shipping back to Amazon today!! |
Rating: 2 (out of 5)
Summary: Not For 9 - 11 Year Olds
Comments: Beware if you are a teacher hoping to use this book as a read-aloud for your 4th or 5th grade class. Although the publisher suggests this as the target age group, the themes and language are more appropriate for junior high. The book also seems intended to be read individually (instead of as a read-aloud), since the small drawings are important to make the text more understandable. Although I'd known that the book was about a young girl who who was caught in a hardscrabble life, in my opinion the material wasn't presented in an easily accessible way for 9-11 year olds. This book will not help children make sense of things they might actually be seeing in their lives. In fact, some of the rather off-hand sentences (i.e., scratching a scrotum) are distracting, and not the type of thing a teacher would want the child carrying home for dinnertime conversation. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: 5th Grade Teacher's Class loved this book
Comments: I am a 5th grade teacher who has read this book to2classes. I am of the opinion that 5th graders in this age are aware of their anatomy and understand the primary differences between boys and girls. Each time I read the book, I had a boy ask me what a scrotum is. I explained using correct facts and got a few chuckles however almost allly nods of understanding from my class. Children need to know the correct names of their parts and there is nothing worng with this word being presented at this age. I can tell you each boy in my class new a slang name not to my surprise.
I also had a boy thank me for reading the "real" words. He told me he thought I was respectful because I knew they were mature enough to hear the whole story.
More importantly, my kids loved this story because the character development is excellent. 23 out of 26 chose it as their favorite book of the year. My class fell in love with these characters. As they worte their own stories after this book, almost all did a much better job developing their own characters because they saw the importance of great characters in this story. It is time to quit short changing and sheltering our children by reading literature that engages them like the Higher Power of Lucky.
What is the Higher Power of Lucky. I will not share however my students had the almost all engaging opinion supported conversation I have ever heard 5th graders have after this story was completed. |
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