Penny from Heaven
Penny from Heaven
By: Jennifer L. Holm
Newbery Honor Book, 2007
Well, I think I was correct when I said Hattie Big Sky was my pick to win the Newbery, but Penny from Heaven is an extremely close second. I really love Jennifer Holm's writing. It's fresh, clean and always makes me want to turn the page. Plus, the added bonus of real pictures in the back of the book! **Sigh** I love real pictures in books. (That may sound funny to you, but I know what I mean!) The pictures are of Holm's mother, who is the inspiration for Penny in this book.
Penny's father died when she was very young. She doesn't really remember him, her mother doesn't like to talk about it, and her father's side of the family lavishes her with the things she needs, and even the things she doesn't. Her father's side of the family is Italian-American, so her grandmother Nonny makes she she always has a lot to eat (probably because Me-Me, her mother's mom, is a terrible cook), her uncle Dominic always wears slippers (shoes are too uncomfortable) and lives in his car. Penny is about the only one allowed to sit in the front seat with him. They always listen to the Dodgers, or, Dem Bums as they call them, on the radio.
Penny's mother has started dating again. Penny is not a fan of Mr. Mulligan as a potential father at all. It's a good thing Me-Me and Pop-Pop know how to be their embarrassing selves to a T the night he comes over for dinner. Plus, Me-Me cooked and Penny delights in watching him try and eat her peas.
Penny's cousin Frankie is her best friend, and partner in crime. They don't do anything terribly bad, other than digging up Nonny's yard looking for money their grandfather had supposedly buried there before he died. Their next adventure in searching for the money lands Penny in the hospital. The lucky bean her Uncle Dominic gave her is how she recovers (I can't say any more than that about this, sorry!).
The death of Penny's father has caused a rift between the two sides of the family. Nonny always cries when his name is brought up and they go to the cemetary to vistit his grave. Penny thinks her father died because he was sick, but when she's in the hospital she overhears something that turns her world completely upside down. When Penny confronts her family, everything comes out in the open. The death of her father, wow, it's just so sad, a shame, a waste. Honestly.
Will Penny's world ever be the same? Probably not, but if Mr. Mulligan keeps bringing her butter pecan ice cream, things just may be okay after all.
Recommended For:
- Fans of 'the good ol' days'
- Life stories
- Everyone!