Lucky Penny

An Association of Jewish Libraries' Holiday Highlights title for Fall 2024

"Elegantly weaves lessons about the symbols and rituals associated with the Jewish New Year into a story about fortitude and friendship." -Jewish Book Council

"Newly independent readers will identify with Penny's situation."-Booklist

Do we need a charm to get good luck? Or do we make it for ourselves?

Penny Posner knows everything there is to know about good luck. Every day she wears her lucky bracelet on her wrist, her lucky socks on her feet, and Ferdinand, her lucky frog keychain, on her belt loop. And today she needs all the luck she can get so she'll be chosen to blow the shofar at the school's Rosh Hashanah picnic.

But when she picks up a lucky penny, her best friend Mara warns her that it's actually bad luck, because it was face down. As everything starts to go wrong, Penny will try anything to change her luck, but all she does is make matters worse. Penny needs to shift her perspective on luck and fix her mistakes before the picnic and before she ruins her friendship with Mara, so she can make a fresh start for the new year.

A comedic tale of superstition and how our perception influences our experiences and the world around us, with bouncy illustrations by Jon Davis.

Joint winner of AJL Holiday HIghlights 2024 (United States)

"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

Aimee Lucido is the author of EMMY IN THE KEY OF CODE, recipient of a Kirkus starred review, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Northern California Book Award winner, Nutmeg Award nominee, and nominee for Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize. Her other books include RECIPE FOR DISASTER, and her picture book debut, PASTA PASTA LOTSA PASTA. She received her MFA in writing for children and young adults at Hamline University and lives with her husband, daughter, and dog in Irvington, NY. Jon Davis is an award winning illustrator of more than 100 books across the globe. He attended Glyndwr University, in Wrexham, Wales, where he received a degree in Illustration. Jon is based in his small but snug studio at the back of his house, where he lives with his family in the Lake District, UK.

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