Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
118th out of 533 books
—
1,389 voters
Penny from Heaven
by
Jennifer L. Holm (Goodreads Author)
It's 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s family. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her Nonny cries every time her father’s name is mentioned. And the two s...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
July 25th 2006
by Random House Books for Young Readers
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
For some ungodly reason I keep reading Newberry books. At one point I wanted to be the Newberry specialist, but instead I became hooked on them since I figured out the formula. I'm especially surprised that this was nominated though. While it contained one of the three elements that secretly qualified it for what is ALWAYS ine a Newberry book (war) it wasn't that interesting and frankly the 50-isms would go over kids heads. Heck most of that crap was just foreign to me, if I didn't recall my mot...more
Eleven year old Penny lives with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents but visits her father's enormous Italian-American family often. The two families never speak or intermingle and Penny figures it has something to do with her father's death, though no one will ever talk about it. Through a series of daily-life adventures, Penny tells us about life in the early 1950s New Jersey.
The details in this book really bring her family to life: quirky uncles, crying Grandmothers, peeing dogs, tro...more
The details in this book really bring her family to life: quirky uncles, crying Grandmothers, peeing dogs, tro...more
1 like · like · see review
Penny From Heaven
By Jennifer L. Holm
Published by Random House
2006
Historical Fiction
Jennifer Holm has taken her personal family history and crafted an excellent work of historical fiction in Penny From Heaven. Holm's book is funny, moving, and a joy to read. Incoming sixth graders, girls especially, will have a hard time putting it down. The writing is quick and smart and the characters are round and very dynamic. This, in addition to the vignette style chapters that comprise Penny's summer make...more
By Jennifer L. Holm
Published by Random House
2006
Historical Fiction
Jennifer Holm has taken her personal family history and crafted an excellent work of historical fiction in Penny From Heaven. Holm's book is funny, moving, and a joy to read. Incoming sixth graders, girls especially, will have a hard time putting it down. The writing is quick and smart and the characters are round and very dynamic. This, in addition to the vignette style chapters that comprise Penny's summer make...more
I thought that the story was compelling and relatable to children. A lot of children go through family struggles, and this book covers that. It is also a book about going through adolescence and self-discovery. I also think that the information is presented very accurately. This book take place in the 50’s right after WWII and it really makes you feel like you are there. However, it still keeps the characters relatable. The plot is developed really nicely, and answers all of your questions. The...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This story takes place in New Jersey. It is about a girl, nicknamed Penny from her father's favorite song of Bing Crosbys. It is about her experience with her fathers death and her life growing up with an Italian family in a time where it was not good to be Italian in New Jersey. At the end of the novel we find out that her fathers death was not accidental and he was not sick, but rather the government had taken him away because they thought of him as a spy or an enemy of the country. It was a m...more
This book is told from the perspective of eleven-year-old Penny Fulucci. The setting is 1950 in post WWII New Jersey where Penny lives with her mother and grandparents. Penny’s father the one that named her “Penny” died when she was a baby. Penny’s fathers side of the family is Italian and gets to see Penny quite often. While visiting her Italian family Penny gets to spend time with her cousin Frankie and other relatives. They embrace Penny with their heritage. With time Penny finds out about he...more
When I read the first page of this book I thought, Is this a book about religion?
It isn’t.
The setting is New Jersey during the 50′s where eleven-year-old Penny Falucci, the narrator, spends time with her cousin, Frankie, who usually cooks up an adventure that gets them both into trouble. Her father is dead and no one will talk about it. Her mother doesn’t get along with her father’s family but she doesn’t ban Penny from seeing them every Sunday where Penny goes for dinner. This huge Italian Amer...more
It isn’t.
The setting is New Jersey during the 50′s where eleven-year-old Penny Falucci, the narrator, spends time with her cousin, Frankie, who usually cooks up an adventure that gets them both into trouble. Her father is dead and no one will talk about it. Her mother doesn’t get along with her father’s family but she doesn’t ban Penny from seeing them every Sunday where Penny goes for dinner. This huge Italian Amer...more
It’s1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s family. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her Nonny cries every time her father’s name is mentioned. And the two si...moreIt’s1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s tha...more
1 like · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Eleven-year-old Penny loves her father's Italian family. Even though her father died before she was born, she spends as much time as she can with her loud uncles and aunts. She can't understand why her "plain old American" mother and grandparents don't seem to like them. As she approaches her twelfth-birthday, Penny begins to learn the truth about the relationship between her mother and her father's family--and exactly what caused her father's mysterious death.
There are moments when Penny from...more
There are moments when Penny from...more
Continuing my quest to read all Newbery award winning books, this one is one of the favorites. Told from the perspective of 11 year old Penny Fulucci, it contains a cast of likeable, colorful characters that are quirky, eccentric and loveable.
The setting is 1950 in post WWII small town New Jersey where Penny resides with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents. Penny's father died when she was a baby and while Penny's mother is estranged from her father's side of the family, she accepts tha...more
The setting is 1950 in post WWII small town New Jersey where Penny resides with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents. Penny's father died when she was a baby and while Penny's mother is estranged from her father's side of the family, she accepts tha...more
It’s 1953, and Penny, 11, is trying to enjoy her summer, but it’s difficult when her mother won’t let her go to the pool or the movies (because she thinks she’ll contract polio). Penny manages to find other ways to entertain herself – getting into mischief with her cousin (he’s also her best friend), spending time with her favorite uncle Dominic (who lives in his car), and working at her uncle’s store. Penny’s mother is starting to date again – her husband passed away shortly after Penny’s birth...more
Novel berlatar sejarah perang dunia kedua ini dimulai dengan kisah kehidupan Penny, seorang gadis berdarah separo Italia dari keluarga ayahnya, yang hidup dgn ibu dan kakek neneknya.
Meskipun ibunya tak pernah melarangnya pergi ke rumah Nonny (panggilan utk Nenek dr keluarga ayahnya) dan menikmati sehari bersama keluarga ayahnya setiap minggu, ibunya seperti menjaga jarak dari mereka.
Dua keluarga ini memiliki perbedaan yang cukup mencolok bagi Penny: Nenek dr ibunya yg dipanggil Me-me tidak panda...more
Meskipun ibunya tak pernah melarangnya pergi ke rumah Nonny (panggilan utk Nenek dr keluarga ayahnya) dan menikmati sehari bersama keluarga ayahnya setiap minggu, ibunya seperti menjaga jarak dari mereka.
Dua keluarga ini memiliki perbedaan yang cukup mencolok bagi Penny: Nenek dr ibunya yg dipanggil Me-me tidak panda...more
Penny From Heaven by Jennifer Holm is a story of a young Italian American girl growing up in New Jersey in 1953. Penny is orphaned by her father from the time she was a baby. Throughout the novel, 11 year-old Penny struggles with many questions about her father, whom no one will speak about. Thus, this leaves her questioning her own identity as well. While Penny lives with her mother and her “boring old American” grandparents, Me-me and Pop-pop, her life is consistently filled with her enormous,...more
1 like · like · see review
Summary
Appropriate for middle school readers, Penny From Heaven, a Newbery Honor Book award winner is written by May Amelia. This realistic fiction/historical fiction story is set in the 1950’s and told by Penny Felucci, a spunky11-year-old. She lives with her mother and grandparents because her father is deceased. Nobody speaks of his death but after a very languid story line, the details of his death finally come out.
Critique
This realistic fiction/historical fiction story puts the reader in t...more
Appropriate for middle school readers, Penny From Heaven, a Newbery Honor Book award winner is written by May Amelia. This realistic fiction/historical fiction story is set in the 1950’s and told by Penny Felucci, a spunky11-year-old. She lives with her mother and grandparents because her father is deceased. Nobody speaks of his death but after a very languid story line, the details of his death finally come out.
Critique
This realistic fiction/historical fiction story puts the reader in t...more
I really really really liked this book!! i read it for a historical fiction book report, and history isn't my absolute fave,but it was not bad because penny falucci, a girl living in the fifties, has the same worries, thoughts and view points of life as most 11 and 12 year old girls. her dad died when she was really young so her many spontaneous, aunts and uncles always are trying to cheer her up whenever they're with her, which is most of the time.
my favorite falucci family member is aunt gina...more
my favorite falucci family member is aunt gina...more
1 like · like · see review
The dustcover summary of this book does not do it justice. A great, quick read! Although some elements of the story could be more developed, it comes down to a story about family, namely the differing relationships the main character has with her mothers and fathers family. Frankly, it made me jealous of the traditional Italian-American family! And, perhaps even more than that, the security of living within 10 minutes of so much extended family. Sure, it could be overwhelming obviously, but the...more
Penny From Heaven is a Newbery Honor book and is intended for students in grades 6-8. This book is based on the author’s own Italian American family. It depicts the 1953 time period when being Italian meant you were the enemy. The book also is rich in its description of families, more specifically about the things that separate them and being them together. Penny’s life is not easy, having a father that is deceased, an uncle living in a car, and the two sides of her family not speaking to each o...more
Nov 07, 2009
(NS) Mary
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Penny lives with her "plain old American" mother and grandparents, but she has an open invitation to visit her deceased father's Italian family, where the delicious aromas are as inviting as the boisterous relatives who welcome her. Against the backdrop of these contrasting 1950s households, the author of Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia (1999) charts the summer of Penny's twelfth birthday, marked by hapless episodes as well as serious tensions arising from the estran...more
Gr. 5-8. Penny lives with her "plain old American" mother and grandparents, but she has an open invitation to visit her deceased father's Italian family, where the delicious aromas are as inviting as the boisterous relatives who welcome her. Against the backdrop of these contrasting 1950s households, the author of Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia (1999) charts the summer of Penny's twelfth birthday, marked by hapless episodes as well as serious tensions arising from the estran...more
This book is set in the early 1950's. It discusses the treatment of Italians in America after World War II. Penny, the main character, lives with her mom, grandma and grandpa; her Italian father died when she was very young and how he died remains a mystery to Penny. However, her father's family is still a big part of her life. Throughout the book, Penny struggles with her mom about her lack of freedom, wanting to know how her father died and accepting her mom's choice to get remarried. Penny ha...more
Penny from Heaven is a middle school/junior high novel is about a young girl named Penny in the 1950s. Penny lives with her mother and maternal grandparents. She has a relationship with her father's family, but her mother does not. She struggles with finding out the truth about her father's death, the way her life is evolving, and her own cultural identity. Her father's side is a stereotypical Italian family, while her mother's family does not seem to have a cultural identity. She gets into some...more
1 like · like · see review
This book was a very pleasant read for me. It follows the story of a young girl named Penny, and her two polar opposite families. On the one hand she has her mother's side of the family which she describes as a typical American family. Then on her deceased father's side, you have a very Italian family, with strong culture and beliefs, in a post-war world that looked at them as enemies. The story takes place in the 1950's and the descritptions of the time are very well done and realistic. It is h...more
I enjoyed learning about Penny's two families. Penny's father has died and no one in her family has ever told her the real reason how. The book begins by explaining how Penny was given her name. "I think about Heaven a lot. Not because of the usual reason, though. I"m only eleven, and I don't plan on dying until I'm at least a hundred. It's just that I'm named after that Bing Crosby song, "Pennies from Heaven."She spends Sundays with her father's family enjoying the typical Italian feast. When h...more
1 like · like · see review
A Penny From Heaven is an outstanding book! Penny from Heaven is the story of 12-year-old Penny Falucci, an Italian-American girl growing up in the 1950s. Her father died when Penny was very little. She and her mother live with her grandparents. Her grandmother, Me-Me, is a horrible cook, and Pop-Pop, the grandfather, is constantly working on the plumbing and causing leaks. Penny’s mother works very hard and is struggling to make a life for herself. This summer begins like any other with Penny a...more
1 like · like · see review
The word "charming" comes to mind when thinking about this book. It's funny, sad and replete with likable, quirky characters. It also made me pleasantly nostalgic for a time past when my own family was full of sweet-smelling elderly aunts who always wanted to feed you. I enjoyed following Penny's adventures and the development of her knowledge of her father's past. I'd highly recommend this book. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that there's not a great deal of conflict. I read this for my...more
This story takes place in New Jersey in 1953. She lives with her mother, Me-me(grandma) and Pop- pop (grandpa) in a two story house. Penny's father passed away when she was very little so she cannot remember him. She visits her dad’s side of the family every sunday for a traditional Italian dinner. She tells her daily life struggles, but the largest struggle she has is that she wishes she knew more about how her father died and why in the world her mother’s family and dad’s family hate each othe...more
I had never heard of this book before, so I was curious to see what it was about. Before I started reading, I read some reviews to get a general idea of the book. Just on the first page I knew I would like this book, Barbara known as Penny was talking about how much she loves baseball and her ideal heaven. In chapter 2 I thought it was different to hear that her Uncle lives in this car and the family allows it. Just in the first couple chapters, I noticed a theme of family and how they represent...more
Throughout this Newbery Honor book Penny Falucci wonders what her father was like, how he died, and why her two families don’t speak – to each other or about her father. Penny turns eleven in the summer of 1953, dreaming of an uncomplicated “normal” summer. But Penny’s life is not like her dream as she navigates between the two extremes of her families. She lives with a leaky toilet, a dog that pees inside, her grandmother Me-Me (who can’t cook), her grandfather Pop-Pop (who burps all the time),...more
Nov 05, 2009
NS - Cami Houston
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
Grade 5-7–Penny Falucci, 11, lives with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents, but her father's large, Italian family is tremendously important to her, too. It frustrates her that no one talks about his death, but as the summer of 1953 progresses, several events occur. First, her mother begins dating the milkman, and, when Penny's arm goes through the wringer on the washing machine, things come to a head. Finally, the secrets behind her father's death come out. Aunt Gina tells her about a...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This book is awesome! | 3 | 6 | May 16, 2013 06:08pm | |
| Good Book | 8 | 24 | Jul 30, 2012 09:21am |
Jennifer L. Holm is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling children's author and the recipient of three Newbery Honors for her novels OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA, PENNY FROM HEAVEN, and TURTLE IN PARADISE. Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series -- the popular Babymouse series and the bestselling Squish series. She is also the author of several other highly praised books, i...more
More about Jennifer L. Holm...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“My idea of Heaven has nothing to do with fluffy clouds or angels. In my Heaven there's butter pecan ice cream and swimming pools and baseball games. The Brooklyn Dodgers always win, and I have the best seat in the house, right behind the Dodger's dugout. That's the only advantage that I can see about being dead: You get the best seat in the house.”
—
14 people liked it
More quotes…
Sep 07, 2008 08:34am