Deena's Lucky Penny

Math Matters®

by Barbara deRubertis, Joan Holub (Illustrator)

Discover Math Matters! With over 15 million books sold worldwide, this award-winning series of easy-to-read books will help young readers ages 5–8 approach math with enthusiasm. Great for fans of MathStart or Step into Reading Math.

Deena has a problem. Her mom's birthday is coming, but she has no money to buy a present! How does a "lucky" penny help Deena?

With engaging stories that connect math to kids’ everyday lives, each book in the Teachers’ Choice Award–winning Math Matters series focuses on a single concept and reinforces math vocabulary and skills. Bonus activities in the back of each book feature math and reading comprehension questions, and even more free activities online add to the fun! (Math Money)

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lain Lucas]

Deena’s Lucky Penny starts out with a girl not knowing what to get her mother for her birthday. She wants to get her a nice gift, but she has no money. As she is upset, she finds a penny in the grass. The book continues with Deena trading coins in for bigger change until she had enough for a present for her mom.

I liked the author’s writing style. The illustrations were reminiscent of Goodnight Moon to me. Before this book, I had never heard of the good luck poem.


This book could be used for second graders. I could teach them about coins with this book. They could do a worksheet where they would have to pick out which coin was which. Additionally, I would have the physical coins and they would need to show me which one was which.

[Phuong Dao · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a littel girl name Deena who is really sad because she does not have money to buy a present for her mom's birthday. When Deenda found a penny in the front yard, she decided to save that penny up. She came across Mrs. Green, her brother, her sister,her dad, and her grand parents, each of them would give her coins and it soon add up enough money to buy her mom a present. This book is good to teach children about math, especially how to count coint and make change.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to both my Kindergarten and first grade students to help them both learn the concept of money, and to reinforce it. We went over the coin values and then played a game. I divided the class up into two teams. Each team was given a dice that had coin values on it, instead of dots as they normally do. The students rolled the dice, and had to match the coin value to the coin itself on the board. Whichever team rolled the highest amount altogether won.

[Oana Cerchezan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using this book to teach a math lesson would be a good way to introduce coins and their value. Before I ever read the book I would go over how much a penny is worth, a nickel,a dime, and a quarter. This way when I am reading the book, I can ask the students questions about how much money Deena has. Then to create self to text connections, I would ask them what do they think they can buy with a penny, a quarter, two quarters, and so on.

[Katherine Fountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this story connected math to real life experiences of children. The main character and stories are very relatable to a young child. The story talks about how a young child has only a penny yet ends up turning it into a dollar and has enough money to buy her mother a birthday gift. A great lesson plan would be about the different names and values of currency and how to add.

[Tiffany Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! Deena finds a penny and ends up turning it into enough money to buy her mom a birthday present! This book is great for teaching students how to identify coins and their values. It could also be used for a lesson on adding money!

[Nicole Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! This book is great for showing students how to identify money and the value of money. This books gets students to think, add, and count the new amount of money Deena's has. Great for students beginning to learn the value of money.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to students whether its introducing coins to beginners or teaching a lesson counting coins altogether. I would reccommend this book to both teachers and parents.

[Barb Sullens]

This app is not working didn't even get to read the book