Just My Luck! (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Fancy Nancy) by Jane O'Connor

Fancy Nancy

by Jane O'Connor

Excellent Book

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, 2nd Grade, Fiction, 1st Grade, Juvenile

Library Binding

First published December 23, 2013

About the author

Since the publication of Fancy Nancy, Jane O'Connor's closet now boasts so many boas, tiaras, and sparkly ensembles that sometimes friends do not recognize her on the street. She still resides (that's a fancy word for lives) in New York City with her family and their canine companion, Arrow. --from the publisher's website

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems to be more about superstition than about luck, but it still has an important message. After Grace (her nemesis from Fancy Nancy and the Mean Girl ) tells her all about different things that can bring bad luck, Nancy exhausts herself trying to avoid anything that might be unlucky. She remembers just in time not to open her umbrella in the house, she narrowly avoids spilling salt, and she has to take a flying leap on the sidewalk to avoid stepping on a crack. She even gives the wrong answer in school so she won't have to say "thirteen"! By the end of the day, she's exhausted, and her teacher can tell that something is wrong. She tries to tell Nancy that the superstitions have no real power over her. Nancy isn't so sure. She wants to believe her teacher, but... On the way home, Nancy is forced to confront one of the superstitions, and she realizes that luck isn't always bad. What she thought was a terrible thing turns out to be a good thing!

I think I resonated with this one a little more than some of the others because I have severe OCD. Performing rituals to keep bad things from happening is exhausting. Superstitions and their accompanying rituals are a way to make us feel like we have some sort of control over our lives, but they're not always healthy... especially when they cause a lot of stress or adversely affect different areas of our lives (as is shown in this book). I like that Nancy eventually realizes that the superstitions don't hold any power, and that she's able to finally relax and see the other side of the coin (no pun intended) when it comes to luck.

This would be a great book for kids who have just been exposed to the idea of superstitions and luck and are perhaps stressing a little over the concept. It shows, in a gentle and accessible way, that superstitions only hold as much power as we give them.

Quotable moment:

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Fancy Nancy book is refreshing and you get to see many of the students.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just My Luck introduces "fancy words" in this beginning reader. The illustrations are as whimsical and fancy as the picture books, so it should be a hit with fans of the books who are learning to read.

[Isabella Woodard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the pictures and the whole story.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 & 4 year old grand-daughters liked it. I was at first apprehensive about the topic - not wanting them to be superstitious. It ended well and alleviated my fears!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy's friend brings a four leaf clover to school for show and tell. But does it really bring good luck? When a girl from another class scolds her for stepping on a crack, Nancy starts to worry, but her teacher helps her understand that things are just things, and that being superstitious can get you in a tizzy over nothing. A helpful lesson for young kids who might have questions about good luck or bad luck.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fancy Nancy becomes worried when she learns about all the superstitions about bad luck. She carefully tries to avoid anything that can bring bad luck, until she finds out that what her teacher said is right: none of these superstitions are real.

[Lillian Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun and I loved the book. That's all.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had my daughter read this to me, and allowed her to rate it.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy learns about superstitions.

[Kaelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not very good cuz the there was one girl not very nice and one girl very nice.

[SFrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of Fancy Nancy but we had a lot of fun talking about folklore and concepts of good and bad luck with this book. A good intro.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grace forces all her silly superstitions onto Nancy.

[Cyndy · Rating 5 out of 5]

At school, Clara talks about good luck when she brings a four leaf clover for Show-and-Share. Nancy gets worried about bad luck when Grace talks about several superstitions that people have.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:
Fancy Nancy is caught up in avoiding bad luck. When Fancy Nancy is caught stepping on a crack in the sidewalk by Grace, Grace informs Nancy about all of the different ways to get bad luck. Now Nancy is paranoid with fear of bad luck and tries to avoid stepping on every crack, staying away from mirrors, and what will she ever do if a black cat crosses her path? All of this stress is tiring? Will Fancy Nancy always be so unlucky or will things turn around?
My Rating:
3.5 stars
Rationale:
Once again I am captivated by the hype of Fancy Nancy. The illustrations are colorful, imaginative, busy, sweet and dashing.

My only flaw in this story that I see is that I found this particular Fancy Nancy story, a bit predictable and stereotypical of a young child trying to avoid any possible way of contracting bad luck. On the other hand, it is something that children talk about all the time and really do believe.

This is not my favorite title by Jane O'Connor, but overall I find the Fancy Nancy series sweet, playful and attractive.

[Kate McGinty aka Caryn Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a classmate brings in a four-leaf clover for show-and-share, Nancy learns that some people believe objects can bring good luck. Mean girl Grace further enlightens her with tales of the bad luck caused by black cats, spilled salt, cracks in the sidewalk, open umbrellas, and the number thirteen. Afterward, Nancy becomes terrified of accidentally bringing on a wave of terrible luck. But, with help from her teacher Ms. Glass, she learns that luck has more to do with people's choices than with superstition. Fancy Nancy's antics are entertaining, as usual, and the story provides a good introduction to the topics of luck and superstition.

[Avneendra]

Got this book for my 5 year old daughter and read with her.

This book was a surprising good read and perhaps the first Fancy Nancy book I read as it introduces very nicely about the dilemma of whether we should fall for luck rituals or should we just believe in ourself and our work.

I think this is an important lesson for kids as every culture has its own good-luck and bad-luck rituals and no matter how educated we are, we tend to fall for them as well as teach our kids those rituals.

[Sarah A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice early reader featuring Fancy Nancy. I am always in two minds about these books - this one explains all the things that can bring you good luck or bad luck and then the teacher tells Nancy that it's all made up. It ends with a bad luck black cat being good luck so is meant to be a nice exploration of superstitions but what a difficult topic to explore for early readers!!

[T.]

Seeing a 4-leaf clover @ a show-&-share, Fancy Nancy becomes superstitious & goes overboard trying to keep track of everything that is lucky & unlucky before deciding to settle on what she truly believes.

When Fancy Nancy's friend brings a 4-leaf clover to show-&-share, Nancy becomes fascinated by luck--good & bad!

[Nanci Booher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story alot. Nancy feels like there are so many things to remember that are "bad luck" she gets overwhelmed. Fortunately Mrs. Glass, her teacher, has a talk with her and Nancy stops worrying about all the bad things she was keeping track of.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fancy Nancy is great but these early readers are good but not like the regular books. They are still great and you can learn a lot of fantastic words, but just can't rate it very high! Still worth reading!

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the topic for this one. Superstitions are something we don't much think about as adults, but they can be fascinating and overwhelming for children when they first learn about them.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy learns not worry about bad luck.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fancy Nancy learns about superstition and what bad luck looks like. Love the fancy words.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

My girls really enjoy Fancy Nancy.

6/19/18 Read with Naomi & Julia.
7/22/20 Read with Julia

[Kaelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like this book because there's one mean girl and one very nice girl. The nice girl found a coin in the puddle.

[Rhyme Owens · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just okay because a lot of the things Grace said were not true, meaning she is a liar. I do not really like liars.

[Emily A]

Good character and family values.