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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781416997726 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Atheneum Books for Young Readers |
| Publication date: | 05/04/2010 |
| Series: | Lucky Trimble Series , #2 |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 208 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d) |
| Lexile: | 960L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 9 - 11 Years |
About the Author
Patron's previous books for children include the Billy Que trilogy of picture books; Dark Cloud Strong Breeze; and a chapter book, Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe. All earned starred reviews, and the latter was named an ALA Notable book. The Higher Power of Luck will be translated into twelve foreign languages and has been optioned for a motion picture. Married to a rare book restorer from the Champagne region of France, Susan is working on the final book in the "Lucky" trilogy.
Matt Phelan's black-and-white illustrations first appeared in The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney. His picture books include The New Girl...and Me and Two of a Kind, both written by Jacqui Robbins. Matt lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Read an Excerpt
1. a broken brooch
Eleven, Lucky thought from her seat at the back of the school bus, eleven, eleven, eleven, and the idea of it, the sound of it, threw off sparks in her head. You start with one, two, three: those clunky one-syllable beginner-ages like wooden blocks that toddlers play with. Keep going and you get to eight, nine, ten: the plodding steps you have to climb until, at last, you arrive. Finally, finally, you reach the best age, the one that, when you say it out loud, sounds like a little tap dance or a drumroll.
And now Lucky was almost there, about to turn eleven, a dazzling change. Not the thud of ten, but flouncy e-lev-en, with its sophisticated three syllables. Write it as numerals and you have a pair of ones, side by side; a fearless two-part beginning, the door to becoming a teenager. She pictured 11 as a swinging double door, a saloon door in an old Western; you push the sides open, bam, with both hands and stride through before they flap shut again, your childhood behind you. And her secret 11: the two straps of Lucky's brand-new bra, her first.
As the whole miraculousness of eleven sparked in Lucky's brain, the big bus with its three passengers in the very back seat jolted along the highway toward Sierra City; it was the last day of the first week of school. Lincoln, smelling of pencil lead, frowned over a complicated, much-creased diagram; it looked like the pattern for an intricate weaving of some kind and was accompanied by numbers and letters of different colors. Lincoln didn't seem to have changed when he turned eleven half a year ago; he still tied knots, always practicing and learning new ones. Miles, by the window, clutched a bubble-wrapped object in his small, grimy hands.
"Lucky," Miles said, leaning forward to peer around Lincoln's diagram, "look at my show-and-tell. It's a wing!"
Lincoln raised his paper without taking his eyes off it, allowing Lucky to reach across for the object. But Miles jerked back. "Nobody can touch it," he said, "because it's from the Found Object Wind Chime Museum, and Short Sammy said I should borrow it because my only other show-and-tell was a piece of vacuum hose, but I had to promise no one would touch it, even Miss B."
"Well, I can't really see it, Miles. You've got it all covered up with bubble wrap."
"Yeah, so I'll do the 'tell' part now and the 'show' part when the bus stops, and you can look close but you still can't touch it."
Lucky knew that Miles took his responsibilities very seriously, for a five-going-on-six-year-old. "Okay," she agreed.
"Okay," Miles echoed happily, settling back into his seat, cradling his object.
After a minute, Lincoln folded his diagram and said, "So what is the 'tell' part? What did you mean, that it's a wing?"
"Oh, yeah," Miles said. "It's part of a brooch that got shot in half by a miner called Burro Bob about a hundred years ago. You probably don't know what a brooch is. It's a pin."
"A pin?" Lucky asked.
"Yeah, like jewelry. Ladies wear them on their" — Miles's cheeks suddenly turned deep red — "here." He pointed a dirty-looking finger at his chest. "So this woman, her name was Paloma, got killed by a bullet right in her heart. She got fought over by two miners, Burro Bob and his partner, Frank the Fuse. Anyway, her name means 'dove' in Spanish, and that's why Burro Bob made the pin in the shape of a dove. He made it out of garnets and quartz and some other thing, I think amnesia, all from mines around Hard Pan."
One corner of Lincoln's mouth twitched at the word "amnesia," a tiny smile Lucky knew was meant for her, but not Miles, to see.
"And Bob and his burro were digging this well for water, only they never found any. But Frank tried to take Paloma for himself, so Bob plugged him" — Miles formed his hand as if it were a gun, aimed at the front of the bus, pulled the trigger, made the sound of a gunshot, and fell back in his seat from the recoil — "but somehow the bullet got Paloma instead." Miles jumped up to enact the part of the wounded Paloma, making agonized death sounds while clutching his chest to stop the bleeding.
"Get back in your seat, Miles!" Sandi the bus driver shouted from the front.
Miles slid onto his seat, still dying. "I am in my seat!" he shouted back.
"So," said Lucky, "she died?"
"Yeah. The bullet went right through the brooch and got her in the heart. It broke the pin in two. Sammy says the piece they found" — Miles held up the wrapped object — "is the wing of the dove, and the rest of the brooch is at the bottom of the well, which was — what's it called when they give up and quit working, like at a mine, and close it?"
"Abandoned," Lincoln said. "Or condemned."
"Yeah, abandoned." Miles carefully slid the bubble-wrap-covered pin into an empty plastic Band-Aid box, snapping the lid shut. "Burro Bob and Frank the Fuse disappeared and never got caught, but Short Sammy says lots of people have tried to find the rest of the dove brooch, its head and stuff, by climbing down into the old well."
"Abandoned or condemned," Lucky repeated softly, thinking how sad those words sounded, how lonely. They could be words about wells, and they could also be words about people.
"They should seal up those old wells," Lincoln said, gazing out the window. "They're dangerous." His mother had named him Lincoln Clinton Carter Kennedy because she wanted him to grow up to be the president of the United States. Lucky noticed that he often looked and sounded like a future president, grave and serious and diplomatic. She remembered when they were only seven and she teased him to make him chase her, then tripped and fell smack on her chin. The bright red gush of her own blood on the ground scared her. Lincoln had yanked off his T-shirt and pressed it hard against her chin. "Stay put and keep pressing," he'd said before going for help, already talking in that presidential way. And Lucky ended up with a little three-stitch scar on the underside of her chin, a scar like a tiny upside-down L.
Miles looked at them. "Anyway," he said. "There's bloody murder and no kissing, so it's a good show-and-tell story."
When they got off the bus, they piled their backpacks on a bench and Miles opened his Band-Aid box, slid the bubble wrap out, and very carefully unrolled it. Lucky, more interested in the museum's bugs and birds, had never noticed the little piece of jewelry. She bent over the mosaic of gems, bordered by a band of silver in a wing shape, intricate and beautiful.
"Wow," Lucky said as Miles rewrapped the pin and put it back into the box. "I wish we could see the rest of the brooch. Imagine the glory if we found it ourselves."
Lincoln frowned. "Don't even think about it," he said.
"Yeah," Miles said, the worry about the dangerousness of abandoned wells on his face. "Forget about it, Lucky."
But Lucky was considering how, when you're eleven, you're interested in love and murder, blood and glory and kissing, things that are precious and fragile, things that are abandoned or condemned. Because eleven is much more intrepid than only ten.
Text copyright © 2009 by Susan Patron
Reading Group Guide
Susan Patron's Hard Pan Trilogy:
A Teacher's Guide to
The Higher Power of Lucky
Lucky Breaks
Lucky for Good
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Lucky Trimble is ten years old in The Higher Power of Lucky, and the only thing wrong with her life in Hard Pan, California (population 43), is that she doesn’t have an actual mother. When she becomes convinced that Brigitte, her guardian, is planning to return to France, she packs a survival kit and runs away. Her plans go awry, and two friends, the entire town, and one almost actual mother help her discover what she has been searching for all along—her personal higher power. In Lucky Breaks, Lucky discovers that at age eleven she needs a friend who’s a girl. She meets Paloma Wellborne, who comes to Hard Pan with her uncle to do geological research. The girls hit it off, but it is up to Brigitte to convince Mrs. Wellborne that Hard Pan is a safe environment for her daughter. Old and new friendships are tested and celebrated as the girls embark on an adventure that turns dangerous and causes them to think about the meaning of trust and responsibility. Lucky is a little older and wiser in Lucky for Good, the final book in the trilogy. She now has a mother to answer some of her questions, but there are just so many questions. Does her father really hate her? Is she really going to hell for being interested in Charles Darwin? Will the health department ruin everything for Brigitte’s Hard Pan Café? Some of her questions have easy answers, and some have no answers at all. But, as always, Lucky knows how to chart her own course.
PREREADING DISCUSSION
When The Higher Power of Lucky won the Newbery Medal, newspapers and talk radio shows across the nation raised questions about the book because Lucky, the main character, hears Short Sammy say that his dog was bitten on the “scrotum” by a rattlesnake. Ask readers to discuss why it is wrong to take words out of context. How does this promote censorship? Ask them to discuss why some adults don’t think it’s appropriate for children to read about parts of the anatomy. Debate whether censoring a book because of one word is an insult to the intelligence of a reader.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Lucky, Lincoln, and Miles are the only kids in Hard Pan. Describe their relationship. Miles is especially annoying to Lucky. Debate whether it’s his age, his personality, or the echo of him in her own longing for a mom that sometimes irritates her. Discuss the circumstances that change the relationship of the three kids as they grow a little older in Lucky Breaks and Lucky for Good.
In The Higher Power of Lucky, Lucky eavesdrops at the anonymous 12-step meetings at the museum and learns that each person is in search of a Higher Power. Discuss why Lucky is so anxious to find her Higher Power. The 12-step people tell about rock-bottom moments before finding their Higher Power. What is Lucky’s rock- bottom moment? Explain why the “getting in control of your life” step is especially difficult for Lucky. At what point in the novel does Lucky discover her Higher Power? How does discovering it set her life on a different course?
Lucky’s father asked Brigitte to take care of Lucky until she could be placed in a foster home. Brigitte says that she would want a foster home that would give Lucky a little freedom but some discipline as well. Discuss whether Brigitte offers this type of home environment for Lucky. Brigitte is a “beginning mom” in The Higher Power of Lucky. Describe Brigitte’s mom skills by the end of Lucky for Good.
At the end of The Higher Power of Lucky, Lucky asks Brigitte, “What is a scrotum?”
Discuss the symbolism in her question. What is symbolic about Lucky plugging up the knothole in the fence of the museum?
The three kids in Hard Pan are free to roam their desert town. How does freedom require responsibility? Discuss moments in all three novels when Lucky takes her freedom a little too far. How is learning to be responsible part of growing up? In Lucky Breaks, Lucky wants to be intrepid. How does she confuse acting intrepid with acting responsible? Discuss moments in the novels when Lucky is responsible. What is her most intrepid moment?
Abandonment is a central theme in all three novels. In The Higher Power of Lucky, Lucky is dealing with the death of her mother and with a father who doesn’t want her. Debate whether Brigitte’s decision to adopt her changes Lucky’s feelings of abandonment. Miles’s mother is in jail. Why does he think his situation is better than Lucky’s?
Explain the following metaphor in Lucky Breaks: “She felt unseen, a lamp with its cord unplugged from the socket.” Why does Lucky feel misunderstood? What doesn’t she understand about herself? What more does she need and want? Debate whether she is searching for a more typical or ordinary life. At what point in Lucky for Good does Lucky finally feel that her “cord is plugged into the socket”?
In Lucky for Good, Lucky elects to research her family tree as punishment for fighting Ollie Martin. Why is the school principal worried about Lucky taking on this particular assignment? How does the assignment help Lucky discover her family? Why did her father want her to have his books upon his death? Debate whether Lucky can now deal with the feelings of abandonment that have plagued her for so long.
Lucky and Lincoln have been best friends forever. Now that Lucky is growing up, she really wants a girl friend. Describe the friendship that develops between Lucky and Paloma in Lucky Breaks. Discuss the term “polar opposites.” How are Lucky and Paloma polar opposites? What is it that intrigues Paloma the most about Lucky’s life in Hard Pan?
In Lucky Breaks, Paloma’s mother isn’t sure about letting her daughter spend the weekend in Hard Pan. Discuss Brigitte’s conversation with Mrs. Wellborne about trust. Discuss the good and bad choices that Lucky and Paloma make. What do they learn from their mistakes? What does Mrs. Wellborne discover about Hard Pan?
At first, Lucky thinks that she has to give up her friendship with Lincoln in order to have Paloma as a friend. What does Paloma help her realize about Lincoln? How does Lucky and Lincoln’s relationship deepen by the end of Lucky for Good?
In Lucky for Good, the three kids from Hard Pan encounter Ollie Martin, a bully from Einstein Jr. High School. How are they unprepared for dealing with a bully? What is wrong in Ollie’s life that causes him to be a bully? Discuss how he is eventually pulled into the circle of friends in Hard Pan.
Lincoln Clinton Carter Kennedy is named for four US Presidents. Based on his name, to which political party do you think his parents belong? Lucky thinks that Lincoln sounds and acts like a future president—grave, serious, and diplomatic. Discuss moments in each book when Lincoln displays each of these characteristics.
The Inyo County Health Department of the State of California wants to shut down Brigitte’s Hard Pan Café because the kitchen is in a residence. How does the entire town engage in a solution to the problem?
Justine, Miles’s mom, returns from prison a changed woman. How does her newly discovered religion confuse Miles? Debate whether she was part of a 12-step program in prison. Mrs. Prender and Justine argue about religion. Debate how Miles might view religion as he becomes an adult.
Justine thinks that Lucky is a “sinner” for studying Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution. And, she won’t allow Miles to read the dinosaur books that he has always enjoyed. Why is Justine so afraid of what Miles is reading? Mrs. Prender reminds Justine that Miles is considered a gifted child. Discuss whether Justine is frightened by Miles’s intelligence. How is censorship a form of mind control? Explain what Lucky means when she advises Miles to keep thinking with his “own brain.” How is “thinking with your own brain” a healthy way of dealing with the world around you?
Discuss how Susan Patron uses humor in characters and plot to reveal serious and profound themes.
At the end of Lucky for Good, Lucky realizes that there is always someone in Hard Pan who needs rescuing. She knows that she will sometimes be that person, and sometimes she will be the person that comes to the rescue. Trace Lucky’s journey from needing to be rescued in The Higher Power of Lucky to her role as rescuer in Lucky for Good.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Write a two-line character sketch of the following characters: Lucky, Lincoln, Miles, Brigitte, Short Sammy, Ollie, Paloma, Mrs. Prender, and Justine.
Brigitte becomes a naturalized citizen. Find out the steps one must take to become a naturalized citizen. Then have a citizenship ceremony for Brigitte.
Ask students to collect interesting objects in their home or on a walk in their neighborhood. Then have them make a wind chime that might be displayed in Hard Pan’s Found Object Wind Chime Museum. Students may wish to vote on the most unusual wind chime.
Lincoln is going to England to the International Knot-Tying Guild. Visit the following website and find out what Lincoln needs as a minor applying for a passport for the first time.: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html.
Almost everyone in Hard Pan qualifies for government surplus commodities. Yellow cheese is one of the commodities delivered in abundance. Short Sammy is especially creative in developing recipes using the commodities. Ask each student to create a cheese recipe that Short Sammy might serve the people of Hard Pan that visit him in his water tower house.
Divide students into small groups and ask them to create a YouTube video advertising Brigitte’s Hard Pan Café. Instruct them to use any two characters from the books as stars of their video.
Guide prepared by Pat Scales, children's literature consultant, free speech advocate, and retired school librarian.
This reading group guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.