“Frank and Lucky Get Schooled”

Newbery Medal winner Lynne Rae Perkins’ new book “Frank and Lucky Get Schooled” is a wonderful combination of a tale of book and dog and an exploration of learning.

Things weren’t going well for Frank and Lucky.  Frank was feeling very blue and Lucky had been abandoned by his owners.  Then they found each other at the local pound. They bonded almost immediately.  What brought them together even more than companionship was that each had a deep interest in learning.

Even though Lucky only went to his school ten times and Frank went to his school thousands of times, Lucky could still help Frank with his homework.  Lucky explored the outdoors and introduced Frank to the sciences of botany and entomology.  Lucky was always coming home covered with bugs and vegetation.  When a skunk sprays Lucky, Frank and his family learn about chemistry when they douse Lucky with tomato juice.  “What is smell made of?  What  would change them into not-so-smelly molecules?

And so the story goes.  Lucky and Frank explore geography, history, math, art and languages.  Together they keep exploring and learning.

Geared to readers K-4, “Frank and Lucky Get Schooled” is a delightful story with lots of examples of what can we learned in various disciplines.