Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg [Hardcover]

Rebecca O'Connell (Author), Majella Lue Sue (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2007 | Age Level: 8 and up

Penina Levine has a bossy best friend, a tattletale sister, crazy parents, and a big, fat zero on her school assignment. It was a stupid assignment, completely impossible, totally unfair. She's never going to do it, not ever, and it's no use telling her parents about it. They never listen to her anyway. But Penina's grandmother does. Grandma doesn't think Penina should do the assignment. It's a matter of principle. It's a matter of strength. It's a matter of five thousand years of history, four cups of wine, and a couple dozen hard-boiled eggs.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Penina Levine's new teacher has given an assignment to send cards as the Easter Bunny to kindergartners at a neighboring school, and the sixth grader is uncomfortable with it because she is Jewish. When she tries to fulfill the spirit of the task without compromising her beliefs, Ms. Anderson shows a remarkable lack of sensitivity and gives her a zero. Feeling that her parents won't understand, Penina keeps the issue to herself, but she finally confides in Grandma, who is both appalled at the teacher and proud of her "hard-boiled egg": her granddaughter who gets tougher when the heat is turned on. As soon as Penina's parents are made aware of the problem, calls are made to the principal, and the teacher quickly gets a lesson in appreciating diversity. Penina is afraid that Ms. Anderson will be angry with her, but the two come to respect one another. While the idea of a young teacher being so culturally obtuse in the 21st century stretches credibility, the story moves along at an entertaining pace. Like an older Amber Brown, Penina is a feisty and thoroughly enjoyable heroine with whom readers will easily connect. O'Connell's artful weaving of Jewish traditions and history throughout the novel makes it all the richer, and the occasional illustrations complement the dynamic humor.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Jewish sixth-grader Penina is annoyed when her public schoolteacher asks her to create a letter from the Easter Bunny for a kindergartner. Her parents learn about the assignment during a Passover seder, and their call to the principal results in a quickly arranged unit on diversity, and, eventually, detente for all. O'Connell's story works on several levels: as an informative recounting of contemporary American Passover customs; an example of how a well-meant assignment grounded in a majority culture can be perceived as offensive; and a portrait of a prickly preadolescent trying to navigate her way between two different worlds. Penina may be bossy to her friends, dismissive of her parents and younger sister, and inappropriate with authority figures, but by the end of the story readers will understand why she behaves as she does. A thoughtful and often funny novel that should appeal to the world's many Peninas. Illustrations are planned, as is a sequel. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596431407
• ISBN-13: 978-1596431409
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,089,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth or Dare, May 21, 2007

By 

Linda C. Kustra "Casey" (North Huntingdon, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg (Hardcover)

Tenacious sixth-grader Penina struggles to retain her beliefs, trust in adults, and humor while going through what seems like unfair obstacles in the course of growing up. Will an impossible assignment, troublesome younger sister, unsympathetic parents, tricky friend, and attending a school where her heritage is in the minority, weaken her or give her strength? Is telling the TRUTH and self-control always better than just DARING to pay for the consequences of one's actions?

Rebecca O'Connell manages to have all readers experience with Penina the joys and struggles of one's heritage in this flowing story. It is not until the reader of any background has finished enjoying the book that they realize the wealth of information they've gleaned not only about the Jewish culture, but the unique beauty of their own as well.

As a school librarian I recommend this must-have library book to students who want to laugh at the important daily issues of grouping up, as well as to students and teachers interested in diversity. This is one of the few young adult books that lovingly DARES to be sensitive to such major topics.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Penina's a good egg, May 2, 2007

By 

David Crawley "Dave Crawley" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg (Hardcover)

You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the wit and wisdom of Penina. Rebecca O'Connell's book taps in to the frustration we all have felt when an authority figure (in this case, a teacher with a fixation on the Easter bunny) disregards our most diligent efforts to be understood. Start with a Passover feast, add an annoying younger sister, an empathetic friend, and a rich seasoning of humor...and you have the recipe for a rewarding reading experience.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Penina Levine is a Hard-Boiled Egg, August 6, 2007

By 

Jewish Book World Magazine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg (Hardcover)

Penina Levine is one of only two Jewish sixth graders in Mrs. Anderson's class in public school. The class has been given an assignment to write letters "from the Easter Bunny" to kindergarten kids in the nearby Holy Family School. Penina strongly believes she should not write the letter because she is Jewish and Easter is a Christian holiday. She doesn't tell her parents about the assignment because she feels they don't listen to her and favor her younger sister, Mimsy. She does tell her grandmother however, when they are preparing the meal for the Passover Seder. Her grandmother says she is like a hard-boiled egg because when you boil it, it gets hard, just like the Jews: "When the heat is on, we don't turn to mush-- we get tougher." Her grandmother is proud of her for sticking up for her religion and not writing the letter. Eventually Penina tells her parents about the assignment and they tell the principal, who then talks to the class about diversity. Mrs. Anderson, Penina's teacher, apologizes and Penina and her family invite her to a Shabbat dinner. The story moves along briskly and Penina is an appealing and feisty Jewish character with much humor. The various black and while line drawings complement the text. For ages 9 -12.