Brian Kenney

"Lucky" is Indeed Worthy of Attention

I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it nice to have a week go by where we aren’t all talking about a dog’s scrotum. One of the smartest comments about the controversy surrounding Susan Patron’s The Higher Power of Lucky was made by Shonda Brisco on LM_NET, when she remarked that someday this would be a great case study for a library school class.

Well for me, that someday came last week, when I was teaching one of the intro classes at Pratt Institute. I presented the Lucky case to the students, even reading aloud the first chapter.A great discussion followed, churning up lots of issues (what meaning to attach to awards, the differences between school and public libraries, intellectual freedom…) that go right to the heart of our profession.

I have to admit, I hadn’t read the book until after the Newbery announcement, and I was afraid it would be another of those dull Newbery shelf-sitters (oh please, you know what I’m talking about. Don’t make me link there!)

Well nothing could be further from the truth. I picked up the book the morning after I got home from Seattle, and within five minutes I shut my office door and read through to the end. I was totally taken in by Patron’s narrative. Those people who are complaining that the book is another example of social problems being crammed into a book for kids just haven’t read it. Yes, there are social issues around the edges—which, as usual, a reader may or may not pay attention to. But Lucky’s quest for stability, and above all love, is deeply powerful and sure to resonate with readers of all ages. You would have to be pretty hard-hearted not to be moved by The Higher Power of Lucky.

Posted by Brian Kenney on March 6, 2007 | Comments (2)