BONUS FEATURE: EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR INTERVIEW Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has. It's all Brigitte's fault-for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She ...
Read More
BONUS FEATURE: EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR INTERVIEW Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has. It's all Brigitte's fault-for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She'll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own-and quick. But she hadn't planned on a dust storm. Or needing to lug the world's heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Higher Power of Lucky to cart. $12.90, good condition, Sold by The Yard Sale Store rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Narrowsburg, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Listening Library (Audio).
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. 3 AUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library collection. Some library markings. We will polish the AUDIO CDs for your satisfaction. You will receive a good set. Enjoy this reliable AUDIO CD performance.
Add this copy of The Higher Power of Lucky to cart. $13.50, good condition, Sold by The Yard Sale Store rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Narrowsburg, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Listening Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. 3 AUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library collection in the clamshell case with library sticker and marking. We will polish each of the Audio CDs to promote a smoother listening experience. You will receive a worthwhile set. Enjoy this reliable AUDIO CD performance.
Add this copy of The Higher Power of Lucky to cart. $32.98, new condition, Sold by Bound Matter rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Aurora, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Listening Library (Audio).
Add this copy of The Higher Power of Lucky to cart. $39.78, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Listening Library (Audio).
Add this copy of The Higher Power of Lucky to cart. $78.62, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Listening Library (Audio).
Newbery winner deserves readership, not censorship
All dogs must wear pants. And books like The Higher Power of Lucky should be banned. That seems to be the opinion of some regarding this Newbery Medal?winning book for young readers. The mention of a dog?s private parts near the beginning of The Higher Power of Lucky has created a controversy and calls to remove the book from library shelves across the United States. It?s a sensitive issue, to be sure. But what parents and readers should know is that the book is a sweet, tightly written story that absolutely is bigger than one innocent anatomical reference and its resulting brouhaha.
Lucky is a 10-year-old girl who lives in a small desert town aptly named Hard Pan. The soil is rock solid, and many town residents have hit rock bottom. Hard Pan claims only 43 inhabitants but many 12-step programs. In search of her own higher power, Lucky lurks and listens outside the meetings of those who are recovering from tobacco, alcohol, and other addictions. What she seeks is greater security and a higher wisdom. After all, her mother was killed by a lightning strike, and her dad is the definition of ?absentee father.? Lucky?s guardian, Brigitte, just might be planning to leave the California desert for her own family in Paris. So Lucky is increasingly desperate for, well, some solid ground among all that hardpan.
From this conceit, author Susan Patron builds a family of characters that is quirky and vibrant. Hard Pan, it seems, is a refuge in the Mojave for the down-and-out. Lucky is at home among such motley, marginalized folks. But she soon realizes that she must run away from Brigitte, and that sets in motion the adventure that will both entertain and enlighten readers.
Patron?s simple little novel has a magnanimous heart. She writes with a wit that doesn?t patronize children and a voice that speaks clearly about both hardship and hope. In a world filled with fantasy-focused children?s literature?the Harry Potters and Artemis Fowls?Patron writes about non-magical subjects like alcoholism and foster parents. She writes for the kids who live in such households, as well as for their friends and the other young readers who care to open such fictional-yet-factual doors. Yes, she also mentions an anatomical part. At the beginning of the novel, Lucky hears about a dog that was bitten in his privates by a rattlesnake. This incident is treated with finesse and a complete lack of sensationalism. (If you?re a parent, I recommend reading the first few pages to see if you agree with me.) After all, ours is a world where canines don?t wear pants and children of all ages witness dogs in this natural light; Patron merely puts an appropriate word to that reality. Then she moves on to more realities, and as she does so, she takes her readers on a heartfelt, humorous, and heartening journey.
Tufcookie
May 31, 2007
Getting Lucky
Lovely illustrations and way beyond just the kid-level writing.
