Sam and the Lucky Money

Title:  Sam and the Lucky Money 

Author/Illustrator: Karen Chinn/Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu 

APA Citation:  Chinn, K., Wright, C. V., & Hu, Y. (1995). Sam and the lucky money. New York: Lee & Low Books. 

Lexile Score: AD660L-Recommended as adult read to child book (ages 8-9) 

Target Audience:  I felt as though this book could appeal to a variety of people both young and old.  With a good plot line and historical accuracy, I believe it would be a great book to inspire critical thinking of a variety of topics. 

Summary:  This story depicted the cultural aspects of the Chinese New Year, while also carrying a very valuable lesson to any child.  The young boy in the story received four dollars from his grandparents, and after trying to shop for various items, he became frustrated that it was not enough.  In the end, the boy gave his four dollars to a homeless man with no shoes, knowing that he would be able to appreciate it much more than the boy had. 

Evaluation: 

	4	3	2	1
Theme/Moral	The theme/moral of the story was worthwhile and provided a non-biased message for the reader.	Theme of the story was worthwhile but portrayed a somewhat biased message for the reader.	Theme of the story was somewhat worthwhile, but portrayed a biased message for the reader.	Theme/moral of the story was not worthwhile and portrayed a biased message for the reader.
Characterization	Characters in the story were relatable and did not portray typical stereotypes.	Characters in the story were relatable but some characteristics portrayed typical stereotypes.	Characters in the story were somewhat relatable, however portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.	Characters in the story were relatable and portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.
Illustrations	Illustrations in the story were relatable and did not portray typical stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were relatable but some characteristics portrayed typical stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were somewhat relatable, however portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were not relatable and portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.
Multicultural Aspects	Story provided accurate representations of  several cultures.	Story provided accurate representations of more than one culture.	Story provided accurate representation of only one culture.	Story did not provide accurate representations of  the culture discussed.
Historical Value	The story's historical references were accurate and did not convey a biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were accurate, did not convey some biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were somewhat accurate, and did convey a biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were not accurate, and conveyed a biased opinion of the event depicted.
Self and Social Identities	This book positively counteracts stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book attempts to counteracts stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book does not reinforce stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book reinforces stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.
Language	This book did not contain any "loaded" words, and used alternatives to generic terms.	This book did not contain any "loaded" words, but did use some generic terms.	This book did not contain "loaded" words, however, consistently used generic terms.	This book did contain "loaded words, and consistently used generic terms.
Overall Rating	I would use this book in my future classroom and recommend it to other teachers.	I would try to use this book in my future classroom and might recommend it to other teachers.	If the occasion arose, I might read this book, but probably would not recommend it.	I would not use or recommend this book.

Overall Score: 29/32

Literary Elements: Use of quotations within a text, use of imagery, personification 

Social Justice Elements:  Appreciation, doing good for others, helping in any way you can 

Sample Lesson:  I really enjoyed the lesson the main character learned about appreciating what he had been given.  One lesson I might try would be to have the students think of something they had been given and write a thank you letter to the person that gave it to them.  It could be anything from a new bike to a simple hug, but the important thing is to let that person know how much it meant to receive such a gift.