The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky

by Holly Schindler

Overview

~How Auggie and Gus save Serendipity Place and find their true calling.~

Auggie Jones thinks she's an ordinary girl. She lives with her grampa Gus, a trash hauler, in an old house. And even though most of her friends live in the same poorer section of the town of Willow Grove, it seems like everyone has a "shine"-a talent or special ability. Everybody but Auggie, that is.

But winds of change begin to blow-a storm tears through Willow Grove, Auggie's best friend ditches her for a new girl who lives in an upscale house on the well-to-do side of town, and the House Beautification Committee targets Serendipity Place, Auggie's neighborhood, with fines and threats of demolition.

Auggie insists she and her grampa aren't run-down people. She uses the items from Gus's trash pickups to reinvent their house and convince everyone (including her old best friend) that she's every bit as worthy of notice as anyone from the fancier side of Willow Grove.

Along the way, Auggie finds her voice, her ability to stand up to those in power, and uncovers an artistic talent that goes far beyond decorating her house. But how could a yard filled with items ready for the junkyard change an entire town's idea of beauty? How can it save Auggie's aging neighborhood? And how can rusted, recycled pieces of metal ever become Auggie's special way to "shine"?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950514076
Publisher:	Intoto Books
Publication date:	07/02/2021
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.69(d)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Holly Schindler is a multi-award-winning and critically acclaimed author. Among other distinctions, her books have received starred reviews in PW and Booklist, and won both a silver medal in Foreword INDIES Book of the Year and a gold medal in the IPPY Awards.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Axioms like “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” come gracefully to life in Schindler’s tale about the value of hard work and the power of community." - Publishers Weekly

"The story shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision." - Kirkus Reviews

"Auggie’s rich engagement with her community and willingness to stand up for her beliefs are inspiring, while her struggle to stay true to herself, even when her best friend gets absorbed in the cool crowd at their new school, will resonate with many readers." - School Library Journal

"In Auggie, Schindler creates a spunky, sympathetic character young readers will engage with and enjoy." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The book is well-written and would make a good classroom read-aloud for upper grade levels...will appeal to both girls and boys." - Library Media Connection

Editorial Reviews

11/25/2013
Axioms like “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” come gracefully to life in Schindler’s (Playing Hurt) tale about the value of hard work and the power of community. Auggie Jones lives with her grandfather Gus, a trash hauler, in the poor section of town, something that hasn’t been an issue until she starts fifth grade. Now, a wealthy girl named Victoria is trying to steal Auggie’s best friend, and the town’s beautification committee has Auggie’s ramshackle neighborhood in its sights. Auggie and Gus begin using old car parts and discarded machinery to make sculptures to beautify their house, leading to in a battle between the have and have-nots. While the community showdown is none too subtle, it will introduce some readers to outsider and folk art, as well as the subjectivity of beauty and art. A subplot involving Auggie’s missing mother stretches credibility, but Auggie’s enthusiasm and unbridled creativity are infectious, and likeminded readers will envy her creative partnership with Gus. Ages 8–12. Agent: Deborah Warren, East-West Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Axioms like “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” come gracefully to life in Schindler’s tale about the value of hard work and the power of community." - Publishers Weekly

"The story shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision." - Kirkus Reviews

"Auggie’s rich engagement with her community and willingness to stand up for her beliefs are inspiring, while her struggle to stay true to herself, even when her best friend gets absorbed in the cool crowd at their new school, will resonate with many readers." - School Library Journal

"In Auggie, Schindler creates a spunky, sympathetic character young readers will engage with and enjoy." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The book is well-written and would make a good classroom read-aloud for upper grade levels...will appeal to both girls and boys." - Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
Gr 4–6—When readers first meet Auggie Jones, she is crammed into Old Glory, her Grandpa Gus's pick-up truck, with her best friend, Lexie, and her neighbor Irma Jean on the way to the local junkyard. Some kids might not enjoy this experience, but Auggie sees the beauty in the way Grandpa Gus turns other people's trash into something new. In addition to the excitement of watching Grandpa Gus at work, the girls are looking forward to starting fifth grade at their new school. Montgomery Elementary, where the girls used to go, is being torn down, so they'll start at Dickerson, a school located in a wealthier neighborhood. The classist attitudes of some of the students begin to make Auggie question, for the first time, the way her family lives. The tension between the kids is brought to a head when the city's House Beautification Committee begins to send notices of code violations and rapidly accruing fines to many homeowners in Auggie's neighborhood. Grandpa Gus and Auggie combat the perception that their house is run-down by using found and discarded materials to make it more beautiful. Some people think the Jones's house is just getting uglier, but others, including some folk-art experts, see beauty in their work. Auggie's rich engagement with her community and willingness to stand up for her beliefs are inspiring, while her struggle to stay true to herself, even when her best friend gets absorbed in the cool crowd at their new school, will resonate with many readers. Some of the secondary characters (including the very bad villain, Victoria) are underdeveloped, but Auggie's own voice is strongly realized and effectively pulls readers into her world.—Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

School Library Journal

2013-11-27
There are no surprises here, but it's a heartwarming and uplifting story nonetheless. Auggie (short for August, after her grandfather, Gus, who is raising her) thinks her neighbors and neighborhood are perfect. As she rides around with Gus in Old Glory, his trash-hauling truck, she excitedly anticipates her first day of fifth grade at a new school in a different part of town. But when she gets there, she realizes that her beloved neighborhood is actually the poor part of town, and worse, she feels ashamed. As she wrestles with her feelings, which are exacerbated by the defection of her best friend to the rich side, Gus and several neighbors receive notices from the town's House Beautification Committee stating that their properties are in violation. Auggie determines to fight back and with Gus' unstinting help, turns their house and yard into a folk-art extravaganza. Further clashes with the committee follow. Auggie's present-tense, first-person narration, rife with similes, often comes off sounding more contrived than quirky, and the story's numerous characters function more as formulaic devices rather than individual personalities. Additionally, the storyline concerning Auggie's absent mother seems more tangential than imperative, and its revelatory windup comes as no surprise. The story shines in its conclusion, however, with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve that forgives any predictability. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews