DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Thérèse Plummer’s lively narration is well suited to the third-person perspective of 9-year-old Sumac Lottery, the self-appointed recordkeeper for a large, unusual family. Through her eyes we see this story, after an introduction to the family's inclusive makeup: two moms, two dads, and children both biological and adopted. There’s also a grumpy grandfather struggling with dementia and a young couch surfer from Brazil. When a dangerous ice storm hits Toronto just before Christmas, stranding one of the dads and the oldest brother away from home, the Lotterys must regretfully alter their customary holiday traditions. Plummer’s accents, inflection, and pacing help keep characters straight and events moving briskly. The seamless incorporation of homeschooling scenes introduces vocabulary, science, and more, adding to the delightful mayhem. S.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Praise for The Lotterys Plus OneA Kirkus Best Book of the YearA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the YearA Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year"[Donoghue's] fans will recognize not only her gift for representing a child's point of view, but also her knack for showing how a family, no matter how small or large, develops its own language, even its own culture." — The New York Times* "A family very much of our century... Most refreshing is that the Lotterys' many differences... are simply part of their own normal. Full of clever names and wordplay, this engaging tale... will resonate with readers from all backgrounds." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Donoghue (Room) vividly captures the Lotterys' chaotic but always loving home through a flurry of inside jokes, banter, and nicknames. If some readers have difficulty keeping the members of the large family straight, Hadilaksono's lively David Roberts-esque illustrations... provide a colorful guide to the Lotterys' wonderfully offbeat home." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
Resource Links
Wonderfully funny and uplifting.
The London Free Press
Its appealing characters and warm good humour are certain to leave already smitten readers clamouring for more. The Lotterys have arrived.
Hello! Canada
A heartwarming story that will appeal to kids - and kids at heart.
DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Thérèse Plummer’s lively narration is well suited to the third-person perspective of 9-year-old Sumac Lottery, the self-appointed recordkeeper for a large, unusual family. Through her eyes we see this story, after an introduction to the family's inclusive makeup: two moms, two dads, and children both biological and adopted. There’s also a grumpy grandfather struggling with dementia and a young couch surfer from Brazil. When a dangerous ice storm hits Toronto just before Christmas, stranding one of the dads and the oldest brother away from home, the Lotterys must regretfully alter their customary holiday traditions. Plummer’s accents, inflection, and pacing help keep characters straight and events moving briskly. The seamless incorporation of homeschooling scenes introduces vocabulary, science, and more, adding to the delightful mayhem. S.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-07-16
When a major storm forces Toronto's creative Lottery clan to revise their plans for the winter solstice and succeeding holidays, Sumac misses familiar family traditions.The ice storm transforms the Lotterys' neighborhood into a glittering, dangerous fairyland while, flight canceled, PapaDum and Sic, oldest of the family's four biological kids wait it out in India. Again, the third-person perspective is filtered through family record-keeper, traditionalist, and worrywart, Sumac, 9, oldest of the three adopted Lotterys. While caring for couch-surfing Brazilian visitor Luiz, sidelined after wiping out when sledding behind a car, the Lotterys assist neighbors afflicted by power outages and, losing power themselves, gratefully accept help. Everyone misses PapaDum, the family cook and handier of their two dads, though PopCorn tries to fill in. Stresses mount. Sumac's enraged when her impromptu entry in icy Lake Ontario's Polar Bear Plunge goes unrecorded. Amid setbacks and challenges, the Lotterys exercise their "muscles of surrender." Brian, 4, ventures farther into gender reinvention; MaxiMum meditates with steely resolve; CardaMom comforts; and the harsh weather turns multiethnic and immigrant neighbors into friends. The Lottery kids, a series' strength, are extra-engaging; their gay dads and lesbian moms, here softened by parental imperfections and quirks, continue to curate a tantalizingly wide-ranging home-school curriculum. In this celebration of Canada's vibrant cultural diversity, French Canada's culture and the country's second official language are conspicuous in their almost total absence.Funny, well-crafted, and mostly intersectionally inclusive. (Fiction. 8-12)
