Penelope Crumb Finds Her Luck

September 1, 2013
Penelope returns in her third adventure, in which she struggles with leading a community mural-painting project, helping plan the secret escape of an elderly yet feisty fortuneteller and avoiding the Bad Luck as much as possible. As in the previous books, Penelope is still coping with the loss of her Graveyard Dead dad as well as the fact that her former best friend, Patsy Cline, has a new BFF in Vera Bogg. All she wants is to be someone's Favorite and to benefit from some Good Luck, but she knows that the Bad Luck is perpetually waiting (like "surprise test[s] on decimal points"). Perhaps it's a sign her luck is changing for the better when she is voted to lead the Mother Goose mural painting at the Portwaller's Blessed Home for the Aging, but she soon discovers being the boss isn't so easy. Stout populates her story with appealing characters who shine in both snappy dialogue and Penelope's wry yet winsome first-person narration. A lost lucky charm, a reception revealing a most unusual interpretation of Mother Goose and a foiled getaway all lead to the realization that what matters most is having people around who value you for who you are and that "things don't always stay the same"--and that many times, "that could be a good thing." Although full of candies and melting Popsicles, this sweet tale is refreshing rather than cloying. (Fiction. 7-10)

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August 1, 2013

Gr 3-5-In the third book in this charming series, fourth-grader Penelope Crumb has enjoyed thinking she is the Favorite of Grandpa Felix, her mom, and best friend Patsy Cline, but maybe she's caught "the Bad Luck... it's a lot like catching the stomach flu." Grandpa has asked her brother Terrence "Terrible" to help with a photography shoot, her mom says that moms don't have Favorites, and Patsy has been spending time with Vera Bogg. When Penelope has the chance to be in charge of a Mother Goose mural her class is painting for a home for the aged, she jumps at the opportunity, thinking it will make her everyone's Favorite. But the project doesn't go according to plan, and when she befriends an old woman at the home who promises to help find her luck, things take a turn for the worse. Penelope and her classmates must learn to work together to finish the project before the unveiling party, and she learns that being the Favorite is less important than being loved. Black-and-white line drawings help bring out Penelope Crumb's quirky and endearing personality. Fans of Clementine and Ramona Quimby will feel right at home with her.-Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
In this third installment, fourth-grader Penelope Crumb worries about "the Bad Luck." Desperately wanting to drive the Bad Luck away, she gets into trouble assisting a retired Coney Island fortuneteller. The first-person narrative magnifies the wacky humor of Penelope's unique observations and phrasings, and readers can compare her (not-always-reliable) perspective with that shown in the occasional spot art.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2013
In this third series installment, fourth grader Penelope Crumb worries about luck, specifically "the Bad Luck." As she finds her role evolving among her classmates, friends, and family, she fights change and brings a lot of that Bad Luck on herself. An unexpected extracurricular project creating a mural at Portwaller's Blessed Home for the Aging finally allows Penelope an opportunity to shine as an artist, and she is elected group leader. (Unfortunately, she's deposed almost immediately.) The first-person narrative magnifies the wacky humor of Penelope's unique observations and phrasings, and readers can compare her (not-always-reliable) perspective with that shown in the occasional spot art. Desperately wanting to find a charm that will drive the Bad Luck away (and to be someone's "Favorite"), she gets herself into real trouble assisting a resident of the old-age home (a retired Coney Island fortuneteller whose own bossiness is a match for Penelope's). Penelope, frustrating but always likable, never does recognize that people often make their own luck, but the evidence is there for savvy readers to notice. julie roach

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)