Book Review:
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is a more recent book and full of mystery. Moses “Mo” LeBeau was washed up on shore during a hurricane eleven years ago. The Colonel and Miss Lana take her in and raise her, while running a café. Mo is obsessed with finding her “upstream mother,” and when a detective comes to town investigating a murder, Mo and her best friend Dale decide to become detectives themselves. This book is full of Southern charm, fun characters, and makes us all reconsider the definition of family. We loved this book. It was fast-paced, interesting, and made us think.
Discussion Questions:
1. What is meant by the title? How has Mo been three times lucky?
2. What advantages do Mo and Dale have over Detective Joe Starr in their murder investigation?
3. Unlike Dale's family, Mo, the Colonel and Miss Lana are not related by blood. What makes them a family?
4. How does Mo come to understand more about Dale's home situation? What does she do with this information? How does her reaction affect Dale? What would you do if you knew that a friend's parent was abusive?
(questions from library.vermont.gov)
Food Ideas:
We had peanut butter and banana sandwiches (either fluffy or hand smashed), fruit with Nutella dip, and the girls decorated bottle-shaped sugar cookies.
Activity:
My friend found cheap glass bottles at Michaels and gave one to each girl. Then they wrote letters to themselves to read only after they graduated from high school, like a time capsule. The girls put their letters in the bottles, sealed them, and decorated them.