Good Luck, Bad Luck

by Harriet Ziefert, Richard Brown (Illustrator)

Lucky, lucky you to find a four-leaf clover, to wish on a star, to see the new moon over your shoulder, to have the first robin of spring fly up, up into the sky. But no walking under a ladder or stepping on a spider: that's bad. Stir up some good fortune and good times with this attractively illustrated and lighthearted look at popular superstitions.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Megan Sutherland]

A level 3 book for children to read about good luck and bad luck. Allows children to see the difference between things that could be good luck or bad luck.