Customer Reviews

The Hundred Penny Box

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The story of Michael and his great-great aunt Dew felt very real to us. We especially liked the part where they played the hundred-penny game together. We also liked the part where old Aunt Dew sings and dances to her favorite record. Dancing makes her feel younger and she forgets that she's a hundred years old. Michael loved Aunt Dew, and the author made us love her, too. Michael and Aunt Dew were very close. We thought that he understood her better than his mother did. We also liked the way that Michael stood up to his mother when she was about to throw away Aunt Dew's old box. We think that everyone should read this book because you can learn alot from it and you will enjoy it, like we did. Kids will understand their older family members better and may make them feel good and happy. [This review was composed and written by my fourth graders in Philadelphia)

I like this story because it is about a boy that stands up for and loves his great-great aunt and he would protect her hundred pennie box so nothing would happen to it. If it gets lost, she gets lost. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Hundred Penny Box tells the story of young Michael and his Great-Great Aunt Dew.
Aunt Dew moved in with Michael and his family so that they could assist with her care
because her failing health made it impossible for her to stay in her home alone. Aunt
Dew is 100 years old and as proof she has a box, which she calls the "Hundred Penny Box"
which contains her collection of 100 pennies. The pennies in her collection represent
the years she has lived, and each birthday she adds a newly minted penny to her
collection. Michael and Aunt Dew play a special game where he counts the pennies while
she interjects memories about what was going on in her life during a that particular
year. Aunt Dew has told her nephew many times that if someone were to take her Hundred
Penny Box they would be taking her life. Because Michael's mother often makes decisions
without discussing them with Aunt Dew the two women do not have the closest of
relationships. When one of Michael's mother's decisions puts the Hundred Penny Box in
danger, what will Michael do to protect it?

While the illustrations in this book clearly reflect the abilities of the Dillon team
they seemed to miss the mark in this book. I felt the artwork took away from the story
considerably and overall it gave a heartwarming story an eerie vibe. Still this is an
enjoyable story about a special intergenerational friendship and love.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay...

Michael experiences a wealth of family memories through his elderly aunt, whom he feels is mistreated by his mother; a woman firmly rooted in the present. This is a boy's poignant passage into understanding two important people in his life and his struggle to reconcile them. The author uses dialect which is natural and realistic. My fourth grade students were spellbound listening to this hour-long reading.

I read The Hundred Penny Box when I was in third grade 13 years ago. Its messages of love and memory have stayed with me and will continue to do so forever. I have created my own Hundred Penny Box and just made one for a friend's newborn son. My grandfather was recently diagnosed with altzheimers, an illness I assume that great-great-Aunt Dew suffered from. I took my ratty old copy of the book to his house over Easter. We read it together and discussed his own memories over the years. While his memory is fading, I felt it important to hear them myself, love them, and save them in my own memory as Michael did for Aunt Dew. I would reccomend this book to any child who is losing a grandparent and anyone who needs a good, heartwarming story.

Michael's great-great aunt has come to live with his family. He loves her tales of family history when he selects a penny from the hundred penny box. The date of each penny represents one year in her life along with sharp memories of the past. Conflict between Michael's aunt and his mother, who is firmly rooted in the present, provokes independent value judgements and new respect from his mother.

We are a group of fourth graders from Mrs. Larson's class at Sunset Hill School in Lawrence, Kansas. Most of us thought parts of this book were boring. We thought the ending did not close out the story well. We felt there was something else going on in the story that the author didn't tell us. The illustrations did not stand out and were difficult to understand. If you looked at the illustrations they would not make you want to read the book because they looked so sad. We also didn't like the story because the characters had too much anger. We also thought the story should have a happy ending. As it was it felt like the author had just stopped in the middle of the story. Some people might enjoy this book but we didn't.

I am a fifth grader at North Hills Traditional Academy. I liked this book. It is interesting because: *It tells about someones life *It deals with feelings *It deals with a neat family. Everyone would love this book.

The old lady of 100 years had a box of pennies...
Her in-law treated her badly in front of her son,
burning her few personal items.
The American Indians kept buffalo robes with a symbol for each year as
a memory pneumonic for the story of that year.
History is not the same for individuals as for history books and newspapers.
Most people in dealing with old people never think that
they will be old one day and others will mistreat them as they have
their own family? Children are willing to learn from old people
and accept them as people.
A blues book...

An invaluable resource to homeschooling families to use with studies on coinage. This delightful and moving story could easily be joined hand in hand with a study on the coins of America. The content fully supports the type of family values normally found in the homes were homeschooling is a must.