Author/Illustrator: Susan Patron/Matt Phelan
Plot Summary: Ten year old Lucky Trimble lives in a small, impoverished California dessert town with her French guardian, Brigitte. Brigitte also happens to be Lucky's father's wife but came to live with Lucky after Lucky's mother dies. The book introduces us to Lucky and her friends as they her navigate through her complicated, but interesting, life.
Comments: The hype over the use of the word "scrotum" in this book was unfortunate although originally, I did choose to read the book solely because of that. This is an interesting story with some sophisticated topics. It would be beneficial for a child reading the book to have a grown-up to go to for some explanations. I tried to get my fifth grade boy to read it and he did not like it; would not even finish it. Perhaps it is more interesting for girls since the main character is a girl.
Extensions:
1. This would be an interesting read aloud for middle school students in a health class or similar type of class where the instructor is interesting in addressing such issues as the Twelve Steps and addiction, cigarette smoking, death, adoption, or running away.
2. I think the controversy surrounding this book is interesting in the context of a study of censorship. It could be one of several titles selected for a middle school language arts class. Students could be divided in to groups with each group reading the "banned" or "controversial" book, researching the issues surrounding the controversy, the author and reporting back to the group.
3. After reading the book as a read aloud and discussing it, the teacher would give students a writing assignment whereby they had to take a position regarding the controversy over this book. They would either be assigned a position, be required to pick a position or write an argument for both sides.
Themes/keywords: abandoned children, interpersonal relations, runaways, 12 steps, adoption,
Age/Reading Level: Interest level: 4 - 8th grade; ATOS - 5.9; Lexile - 1010
Standards:
ELA6RC2/ELA7RC2/ELA8RC1 - The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas.
ELA6W2/ELA7W2/ELA8W2 - The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.
ELA8R1 - The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational texts.
Publisher's Info: Altheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-1-41697-557-1
ISBN-10: 1-41697-557-8
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Children 10/01/07 | Newbery Medal/Honor 01/22/07 |
| Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/07 | School Library Journal 12/01/06 |
| Book Links (A.L.A.) 05/01/08 | Horn Book starred 04/01/07 |
| Kirkus Review starred 10/15/06 | Booklist 12/01/06 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction
Websites:
Scrotum controversy: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/18newb.html
Includes additional awards: http://books.simonandschuster.com/9781416901945
I like this website: http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/1416901949.asp
Notes for Booktalk:
Vocabulary: scrotum
Comments