Lucky Penny

"Third grad­er Pen­ny Pos­ner believes in luck. She fills her room with lucky objects and her days with lucky rit­u­als. She hopes she is lucky enough to be cho­sen to blow the sho­far at her school’s Rosh Hashanah pic­nic. But while walk­ing to school with her anx­ious friend Mara, Pen­ny finds an unlucky pen­ny — heads down — and her luck runs out.

Bad things keep hap­pen­ing to Pen­ny: her seat gets moved to the back row, she gets in trou­ble with her teacher, and, in an attempt to reverse her bad for­tune, Pen­ny and Mara get in a fight. For­tu­nate­ly for Pen­ny, her wise moth­er coun­sels her that ​“luck is just a way of look­ing at the world,” and even though Pen­ny isn’t cho­sen to blow the sho­far, it turns out to be a lucky day in so many ways.

This chap­ter book for young read­ers ele­gant­ly weaves lessons about the sym­bols and rit­u­als asso­ci­at­ed with the Jew­ish New Year, like apple cake and tash­lich, into a sto­ry about for­ti­tude and friend­ship. Read­ers will relate to Penny’s opti­mism and Mara’s wor­ries. Pep­pered with live­ly pen-and-ink draw­ings, Lucky Pen­ny will appeal not only to kids who like read­ing inde­pen­dent­ly, but also to teach­ers and par­ents who are look­ing for sto­ries about Rosh Hashanah." —Jewish Book Council

"Third-grader Penny Posner is obsessed with good luck and determined that she be chosen to blow the shofar for her school's Rosh Hashanah picnic. Unfortunately, her day is not auspicious: her lucky pencil loses its feather, her bracelet gets tangled in her hair, she is called out for talking in class, a pop spelling quiz catches her unprepared, and her grandmother's special honey-apple cake disappears from her lunch. In desperation, Penny tries to banish the curse by purposely doing unlucky things (e.g., stepping on cracks in a drenching thunderstorm) and ends up at odds with her best friend, Mara. Lucido's early chapter book features believable characters, relatable situations, and sympathetic adults who offer advice when asked but otherwise allow Penny to learn from her mistakes. Davis' black-line cartoon drawings appear on nearly every page, illustrating key events and helping to support emerging readers. While information about the holiday is scant, newly independent readers will identify with Penny's situation."—Booklist