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Jun 15, 2008

Nita rated it:

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...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

Kelly rated it:

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, pe More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Josie rated it:

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 cha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2011

Christy rated it:

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 comment like

Aug 18, 2011

Elaine rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 01, 2011

Alison rated it:

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 mome More...

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Jun 17, 2011

Linda rated it:

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 More...

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Mar 11, 2009

Barky rated it:

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 bir More...

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Mar 02, 2010

Ch_hayley rated it:

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 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 27, 2008

Quigmiss rated it:

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 aun More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Melissa T rated it:

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...

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Feb 26, 2010

L-Crystal rated it:

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2009

(NS) Mary rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Rachael rated it:

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...

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Mar 03, 2010

Samantha rated it:

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 som More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 15, 2009

Marija rated it:

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...

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Mar 02, 2010

Katina rated it:

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 I More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2012

Saira rated it:

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...

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Jul 14, 2011

Julie rated it:

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 r More...

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Nov 05, 2009

NS - Cami rated it:

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...

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Nov 15, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Genre: Junior Book—Historical Fiction

Summary: In this 2007 Newbery Honor Book, a little girl known as Penny has a hard time dealing with her family’s past. This makes her life very hard as her mother doesn’t allow her to do anything because she thinks something may happen to her. But, the thing that most bothers Penny is the fact no one ever mentions how her father died until one day Penny found herself in a tragedy. Then, the truth is set free.

Critique:
More...

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Aug 11, 2010

Melinda rated it:

Even though I did not grow up during the '50s, my mother did and I remember her talking about the several polio scares that put the fear into everyone; the polio shots, "contagious" swimming pools, watching films in school about children living in iron lungs. Penny's life is engulfed by these scares, but she herself has fear of very little.
I enjoyed reading about her eclectic family members - the descriptions of her Me-me's inedible cooking, her Pop-pop's convenient deafness, h More...

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Jan 20, 2009

Taylor S rated it:

Penny From Heaven is about 11 year old Penny, who is growing up during the 1950's. It's the summer of 1953, and Penny is spending her days eating butter pecan ice cream, playing baseball with her cousin, and splitting her day between her mother and her mother's parents and her dead father's large Italian family. the summer is a summer of adventure and Penny learns things about her father that she never knew were possible. In the end, Penny learns that even though her family isn't perfect, she is More...

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Aug 22, 2011

Cindy rated it:

Overall Review: Penny's idea of Heaven involves butter pecan ice cream, the Dodgers, and her big, loud, Italian family. But this summer isn't exactly heaven. She's living through a horrible haircut, days filled with boredom because her mom is too afraid of polio to let Penny go to either the pool or the movie theater, and her cousin Frankie's crazy schemes. With gentle wit and great historical details, Jennifer Holm weaves a pitch-perfect historical fiction about family, honesty, and growing More...

3 comments like

Nov 10, 2010

Joan added it

This book finished with the author's notes about her family. The book was a fictionalized history about Holm's colorful immigrant family; primarily Italian. The book is like a noisy fun Thanksgiving feast where the more fantastic and eccentric the family members, the merrier. It has a bright upbeat writing style based on the 40's song "Pennies from Heaven." I really enjoy hearing about that era and it's optomistic outlook in tough times, with everyone working hard and helping More...

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Oct 04, 2010

Mary rated it:

In 1953, Penny and her mother live in NJ with her mother's plain old American Methodist parents (Me-me and Pop-pop). Penny's father died when she was a baby, under circumstances that are mysterious to Penny. Her father's family is a large and loving and fun Italian-American family, and Penny spends as much time with them as she can - even though her mother and Me-me and Pop-pop don't seem to approve of them. Penny's having a reasonably good summer - except for not being allowed to go to the pool More...

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Sep 11, 2010

Hilary rated it:

The summer of 1953 holds big changes for Penny. She is turning twelve, has her first job at her uncles store, and learns more about her family and her father who died when she was only an infant. Although I don't think this is as strong a piece as "The Creek", it was still an enjoyable read. Unnecessary plot developments - a cousins old girlfriend and her new (bad) relationship - hold the story back, but the setting and characters are strong enough to make the story work. I'm continuin More...

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Apr 06, 2010

Nldiclementi marked it as to-read

natalie diclementi
pages in book-256

20 word summery

pennys summer is not going as she planned, but she soon learns- the hardest of times still contain somethig good

passage on page-190
paragraph-3-5

" my right arm has been pulled through the wringer all the way up to my armpit and it's stuck, but the wringer's still going. grinding down on my arm, like Uncle Dominic making ground beef.
"make it stop!" i scream. More...

4 comments like

Jan 28, 2010

Cathy rated it:

I am reading this on recommendation from my granddaughter, Hannah. She says it is her favorite book so far. So I finished it and I really enjoyed it - it was a cute story and I have to share one thing. So Hannah would check with me to see what part I was reading and one day I told her I had just read the part where she got her arm stuck in the wringer washing machine and had to go to the hospital. So we talked about the friends that she met in the hospital and when we were through talking she More...

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Mar 21, 2010

Anne713 rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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