The Higher Power of Lucky

Book: The Higher Power of Lucky
Author: Susan Patron
Audience: Grades 4-6
In a Nutshell: girl lives in a trailer in the California desert w/ her French guardian and dog, pondering bugs and the meaning of life

I'm way behind on my posts, so I'll make this short. This book won the Newbery Award for 2006, and that's why I read it. I honestly never would've given it a second look otherwise- just not my style. Set in a tiny, dusty California town, nice gentle cover illustration...nah. But I like to give the Newbery its dues, so I read it. It's well-written, certainly, and I did like it. But it's not an easy sell to most readers- unless you're sold on gentle, slightly quirky, and heartfelt. Which I guess some people are, and more power to you. I almost suspect that the librarian in California who started all the bruhaha about the scandalous use of the word 'scrotum' on page one was a plant by the publisher and/or Newbery Committee to generate press. Almost, but not quite.

PS: It was only a dog.
PPS: It was only a scrotum.