Penny From Heaven

By: Jennifer L. Holm

"Penny for your thoughts."

"Penny's present-tense narration is both earthy and observant, and her commentary on her families' eccentricities sparkles."

- Kirkus Reviews

Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2006

Penny is an 11 year old girl growing up in New Jersey. Penny’s father died and no one will tell her how or why. Her mother’s side of the family won’t speak with her father’s side. With her family split she tries to make the most of the people she has in her life. She often visits her father’s side of the family. This big Italian family definitely keeps things interesting from her Nonny and to her uncle living in car Penny definitely doesn’t have a lack of interest or love in her life. Learning about the traditions and struggles of Italian Americans Penny learns how great family can be and the struggles that can tear them apart.

 Reading Level: 5-6 and up Lexile: 730L

Suggested delivery: Independent read, Whole group, or small group read.

Vocabulary: Hermit, Shrapnel, stock, pneumonia, Chianti, Polio, wringer, orderlies, internment camp

 Electronic Resources:
http://www.jenniferholm.com/pdf/teacherguide_pennyfromheaven.pdf This PDF offers a wonderful array of information and ideas relevant to the book and the author. There are some wonderful ideas on how to include the book into curriculum of all different subjects.

http://www.lesliepreddy.com/yhba/08-09/Middle/PennyFromHeaven-Hult.pdf Wonderful resource when teaching the book, there are character analysis and a lot of information that can be used by teachers and to help students about the book. There are also com questions given for each chapter that can be used for pre-reading, during reading and after reading.

http://dav.sbo.hampton.k12.va.us/pages/penny.pdf this PDF offers a lot of questions some are worthwhile and some aren’t but they are good reference points to base questions off of or get ideas.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/pennies-from-heaven-lyrics-bing-crosby.html lyrics for pennies from heaven by Bing Crosby

http://www.jenniferholm.com/ author’s website

Activities to increase comprehension:

Before reading: Bring in a guest speaker that was alive during the 1950’s and is an Italian American who can talk about what it was like. Have the students listen and discuss the song “Pennies from Heaven” and analyze the words and their meaning this can give background to what the book might be about this can also be used after reading to further analyze Penny and why that was her nickname.

During reading: Students can research prejudices against Italian Americans and other nationalities and apply what they learn to the book and some of the references mentioned by Pennies family members. There are a lot of characters in this book, have the students create a family tree and as a new character is introduced have them add it.

After reading: Students, like Penny, might have questions about internment camps and why her father was in one. Have the students research this and then write a letter of explanation to Penny based on their research. Teachers can also use an exit slip to help understand what the students want to learn more about, what they were confused about after reading the book and what really sparked their interest or even how the book made them feel.