Mod 10: Penny From Heaven Review

What's It All About?

11-year-old Penny's family is far from normal in the summer of 1953. No one mentions her father, her Uncle lives in his car with a perfectly good house right in front of him, and her mom won't speak to any of her dad's Italian family. When Penny gets hurt, she overhears something startling about her dad. Could it really be true? What did being Italian in America during the 50s REALLY mean?

What'd I Think?

Holm's depiction of the off-the-wall family raising Penny was flawless. She gets you invested in them to the point of feeling like you are a part of the family as well. I ugly sobbed towards the end. I had no idea that things like this happened to Italian families not so long ago in American history.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

What'd They Think?

Publishers Weekly

(August 28, 2006; 9780375936876)

Newbery Honor author Holm (Our Only May Amelia) conjures a nostalgic 1953 New Jersey summer in this novel with a plucky 11-year-old narrator at its center. Penny divides her time between two extremes: her overprotective single mother (who is "afraid of just about everything that involves fun") and the maternal grandparents with whom she lives, and her deceased father's colorful Italian family. Despite her passion for the Brooklyn Dodgers and gentle comic voice, Penny emerges primarily as an observer witnessing the antics of her more zany relatives, including her favorite uncle Dominic who lives in his car, her scheming cousin Frankie (who doubles as her best friend) and her perennially black-clad grandmother Nonny, who lives to feed people and feuds with her daughter-in-law, an ex-Rockette. In the conflict between Penny and her mother's beau, the narrative offers a fresh take on a familiar plight. The relaxed pace picks up after an accident lands Penny in the hospital and she overhears a rumor about her father. Holm includes telling historical details, including information about WWII Italian internment camps and how Penny's mother will not allow her to swim in a public pool or visit a movie theater because of the risk of polio. Readers will enjoy observing Penny's growth, how she mediates a peace among her family members and offers a glimmer of heaven. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)

Booklist

(April 15, 2006; 9780375936876)

Gr. 5-8. Penny lives with her plain old American mother and grandparents, but she has an open invitation to visit her deceased father's Italian family, where the delicious aromas are as inviting as the boisterous relatives who welcome her. Against the backdrop of these contrasting 1950s households, the author of Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia (1999) charts the summer of Penny's twelfth birthday, marked by hapless episodes as well as serious tensions arising from the estranged families' refusal to discuss her father's death. Penny is a low-key character, often taking a backseat role in escapades with high-spirited cousin Frankie. However, Holm impressively wraps pathos with comedy in this coming-of-age story, populated by a cast of vivid characters (a burping, farting grandpa; an eccentric uncle who lives in his car--not exactly normal for people in New Jersey ). Concluding with a photo-illustrated endnote explaining Holm's inspirations in family history, this languidly paced novel will appeal most to readers who appreciate gentle, episodic tales with a nostalgic flavor. Hand selling may be necessary to overcome the staid jacket illustration. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2006 Booklist

What Do I Do With It?

Penny carries a magic/lucky bean with her everywhere she goes. What do the students imagine the bean looks like based on any descriptions from the book and filling in the rest with their imagination. They will create a bean in this image using air-dry clay and paint.

Mod 4: The Witch of Blackbird Pond Review

What's It All About?

Kit Taylor is an orphan transplant in the Connecticut Colony far from her life on the Caribbean island where she grew up. She joins relatives she hasn't seen in years in their Puritan community where she is expected to follow the rules including attending multiple church services. Feeling out of place, she finds a friend in the old Quaker woman who lives in the meadows. The only problem is that the woman has been deemed a witch by the community and leads to troubles for herself she never saw coming.

What'd I Think?

I had heard of many people reading this novel in school either for pleasure or school assignments but its just one of those that never fell in sync with my younger self's reading schedule. I am sorry that I waited so long to pick it up! The friendship formed between Kit and Hannah as well as the help she gives to young Prudence warmed my heart and had me begging that everything would be okay for them in the end.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

What'd They Think?

Horn Book Guide - 
(October 01, 2001; 9780395913673)

This edition of the Newbery Award-winning novel is illustrated with twelve watercolor paintings. Moser's portraits do a fine job complementing the text, with one jarring exception: an oddly anachronistic portrait of young Kit and her grandfather on the island of Barbados shows a contemporary-looking child in a sundress and a flowered headband. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal -
(April 01, 2003; 9780807207499)

Gr 5-8-Mary Beth Hurt gives an excellent performance in this reading of the Newbery Award-winning novel by Elizabeth George Speare (HM, 1958). The setting is the Colony of Connecticut in 1687 amid the political and religious conflicts of that day. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle's doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her. Having been raised by her grandfather in Barbados, she doesn't understand the conflict between those loyal to the king and those who defend the Connecticut Charter. Unprepared for the religious intolerance and rigidity of the Puritan community, she is constantly astounding her aunt, uncle, and cousins with her dress, behavior, and ideas. She takes comfort in her secret friendship with the widow, Hannah Tupper, who has been expelled from Massachusetts because she is a Quaker and suspected of being a witch. When a deathly sickness strikes the village, first Hannah and then Kit are accused of being witches. Through these conflicts and experiences, Kit comes to know and accept herself. She learns not to make hasty judgments about people, and that there are always two sides to every conflict. There are several minor plots as well, including three romances, which help to bring this time and place to life. Hurt's use of vocal inflection and expression make this an excellent choice for listening whether as an enrichment to the social studies curriculum or purely for pleasure.-Maureen Cash Moffet, St. Anne's Catholic School, Bristol, VA (c) Copyright 2010.

What Do I Do With It?

This novel could be a tie-in during a unit on early settlers in America. Classes can discuss the different religions presented in the book and why they felt the way they did towards each other. Students can then look up information on other witch trials that actually happened and report what they discover. They could even perform a mock witch trial.