Moving Up

The author of the Pee Wee Scouts books here launches the sunny Lottery Luck series starring the amiable Green family: 10-year-old Daisy; her younger brother, Delphie; their mother, a compulsive gardener who grows various plant species on the rooftop of their condo; and their father, an eccentric artist who fashions lawn ornaments out of copper. Aware that they need a larger home and that they lack the money to buy one, Daisy convinces her Aunt Ivy to purchase two lottery tickets in her mother's name. Given the book's title, there is no suspense about the outcome of the $10-million lottery drawing, yet Delton adds an ample dose of lighthearted humor as the children and Ivy try to retrieve the lucky ticket--which has ended up between the pages of a book Ivy slipped into the return box outside the library. And, as her buoyant tale draws to a close, the author convincingly interjects a worthy note: when Daisy expresses concern that the windfall will change her family, her parents explain that they will make sure that the truly important things do not change. Ages 7-10. (May)