Monday, October 11, 2010

The Higher Power of Lucky


            The novel The Higher Power of Lucky is written by Susan Patron and is geared toward 4th through 6th graders.  I would rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. 
            The Higher Power of Lucky tells the story of a ten-year-old girl named Lucky who is growing up in a trailer in Hard Pan, California, population 43.  She is a young girl very interested in science and closely studies the community around her.  She became inspired to find her higher power, or spiritual strength, while eavesdropping on 12-step program meetings about people who have hit their rock bottoms.  She lives with her father’s ex-girlfriend Brigitte, after her mother died in an accident after a storm took down a power line.  She is a driven little girl who is always prepared for the worst with her survival pack and hope for the best with her best friend Lincoln in tow. 
            This book would be a good example of how to use setting to enhance a story.  Lucky is surrounded by basically nothing- a town in the middle of the dessert with a population of less than 50.  Yet she still finds countless things to explore and many details to attend to.  Students could find ways to see their community or setting in new ways to write about in class after reading The Higher Power of Lucky.  The narration of the novel is also a great reference for students learning how to write stories.  Narratives can be a daunting task for new writers, but the way that readers get to be inside Lucky’s head as she examines her world is a great opportunity to see the literary element of voice exercised to its fullest potential.  The voice and point of view of the story really affects the experience the reader has and deepens the connection between the reader and Lucky.  Susan Patron really does a great job at mimicking the thoughts and emotions of a ten-year-old girl, so this book should be quite relatable for most elementary students. 
            This book is a great novel to introduce a unit on writing narratives.  If students can use The Higher Power of Lucky to find their own voice, their writing will be genuinely reflective of the thought in their heads.  Students can also really relate to some ideas like feeling confused about their identity or a feeling of loneliness.  Lucky feels somewhat distant from Brigitte and the idea of a loss of a close loved one is discussed, but in a way that is not too heavy for children to get through and get to the other parts of the story.  This book is great because it touches on a lot of aspects of a person’s life: family, the search for something greater, curiosity, and friendship.  Students are bound to connect with some part of Lucky’s life, which makes this book versatile and usefully in a diverse classroom.  

Here is a link to build wind chimes in your classroom like those in the Found Object Wind Chime Museum in the book.  

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