Penny From Heaven

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Holm, Jennifer L. 2006. Penny From Heaven. New York. Random House.

ISBN#: 0-375-83687-x

AWARDS:

Newbery Honor Book 2007

ALA Notable Children’s Book 2007

PLOT SUMMARY:

            Penny Falluci’s summer does not quite live up to her expectations. Her mother begins dating the milk man of all people and won’t let her go swimming in the public pool because she is afraid that Penny will get polio. Her mother and her father’s families do not get along, her Uncle Dominic lives in a car and her cousin Freddy ends up in major trouble. As if this was not enough, Penny injures her arm while washing clothes and faces the possibility of never being able to use it again. It is during this time that she learns the truth of how her father died and a healing process hesitantly begins between two families.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

            Penny From Heaven is a story about the ups, downs and intricacies of families. Everyone experiences a time when they wished their family was not their family and readers are bound to find an experience in this book which they can relate to. Whether it is growing up without a father, having an overprotective mother, or simply the trouble one can be drawn into because of peer pressure, there is something that will bring back a memory for everyone.

            Set in New Jersey in 1953, a mere 8 years after the end of WWII, the book addresses how Italians and Italian Americans were treated during the war and after the war. The term “enemy aliens” was used to refer to the Italian people who were in the United States when France declared war. Penny’s father was sent to an internment camp and died while he was there. The book also portrays examples of how suspicious people were towards people of Italian descent.            

      Inspired by the stories of her Italian American family, Jennifer Holm includes author’s notes of how the stories came to be and includes pictures and posters of actual people and items of this time in American History. Her resource listed in the back gives further indication that this book definitely has historic evidence of this time period.

REVIEWS:

BOOKLIST: “……this languidly paced novel will appeal most to readers who appreciate gentle, episodic tales with a nostalgic flavor.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “The period is lovingly re-created, from the fear of catching polio to Penny's use of the word swell.”

CONNECTIONS:

            This book can be tied to many different areas of research and discussion.

·         Students may research Internment camps and how people lived and were treated in them.

·         Research polio: the causes, effects, cures and history of it.

·         Family relationships: Penny has a different relationship with each side of her family. Students can discuss the difference and compare it to their own family.