Common Sense Media Review
By Joanna H. Kraus
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Gentle story of girl photographer raises ethical issues.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When Lucy and her family move from the Boston area to a small cottage on a New Hampshire lake, she meets her neighbors Nate and Emily, and together they go on Loon Patrol. Nate helps her scout out perfect pictures for the photography contest Lucy wants to enter to see how good her skills really are. But one day she takes a photo that threatens and angers Nate. Plus she's told him a big lie about the contest.
Is It Any Good?
The leisurely paced HALF A CHANCE explores thorny topics while telling a contemporary story with realistic characters. And it raises some intriguing ethical issues: Is it dishonest to enter a contest for which your father is the judge? Is it right to submit work that may make a private family issue public? Also, to what lengths do you go to win praise from a parent?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about dementia. How could you help an aging relative or neighbor who's struggling with dementia?
Take several photographs and see if you can arrange them so they tell a compelling story.
Find out about which wild animals are in your area, why they may be important, what threatens them, and how you can help protect their lives.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Arts , Friendship , STEM , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic Press
- Publication date : February 20, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 218
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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