Penina Levine Is a Hard-Boiled Egg Book

Fresh, feisty, funny Penina Levine narrates a tale of contemporary Jewish family life.

Children's Literature

A sixth grade assignment to inscribe cards to kindergarteners in the persona of the Easter Bunny misfires, launching this story. When the task makes her feel uncomfortable, Penina, who is Jewish, tries to assert herself, but the teacher won't yield. Penina navigates the treacherous waters of cultural identity and eventually learns to build the bridges she needs with her grandmother's support, and without compromising her principles. Penina's motives are understandable, and her actions quite touching. Grandma is wonderfully funny, and the running low-level conflict between Penina and her sister Mimsy will resonate with many middle-graders who have to cope with younger siblings. O'Connell weaves in dabs of historical and cultural significance. In doing so, she includes both refreshing insights and charming idiosyncrasies, such as Grandma's memories of Seders that involved both religious ceremony and the singing of labor songs. Ms. Anderson, however, seems excessively insensitive and inept, even for a new teacher. Both her action in establishing the story's premise, and Penina's eventual overstepping of boundaries in confronting her seem overly purposeful, and too convenient to the author's intent. Arguably one can find culturally and pedagogically blinkered teachers, even today. Still, this logical truth doesn't quite make the required translation into fictional truth.