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Lucky
We’re having a surprise at dinner tonight… but what could it BE? A joyful slice of family life all about what it really means to be lucky.
(This ebook is optimised for Kindle tablets and the Kindle App. It is not suitable for e-Ink kindle devices, such as the PaperWhite. We recommend you download a sample to your device before purchase if in doubt.)
When Mum announces that we’re having a surprise at dinner tonight, my brother Leo and I can’t help but wonder…
What could it BE?
Mum says we’ll have to wait and see, but Leo and I have some ideas of our own…
The award-winning creator of the Roald Dahl shortlisted Marchall Armstrong is New to Our School delivers a tasty and touching slice of family life, in a story all about the benefits of brothers, and what it really means to be lucky…
A touching and funny story perfect for reading aloud to boys and girls aged 3+.
(This ebook is optimised for Kindle tablets and the Kindle App. It is not suitable for e-Ink kindle devices, such as the PaperWhite. We recommend you download a sample to your device before purchase if in doubt.)
When Mum announces that we’re having a surprise at dinner tonight, my brother Leo and I can’t help but wonder…
What could it BE?
Mum says we’ll have to wait and see, but Leo and I have some ideas of our own…
The award-winning creator of the Roald Dahl shortlisted Marchall Armstrong is New to Our School delivers a tasty and touching slice of family life, in a story all about the benefits of brothers, and what it really means to be lucky…
A touching and funny story perfect for reading aloud to boys and girls aged 3+.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
David Mackintosh
36 books14 followersDavid Mackintosh loves books with pictures in them, flying, visiting cities, and being read to. His picture book Marshall Armstrong Is New to Our School was short-listed for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
June 6, 2024
Sometimes we believe our own narratives so strongly but it is important to decouple thoughts from reality.
February 26, 2018
Mom says they are getting a surprise. All day they try to guess what the surprise will be. They decide the surprise is a 2 weeks all expenses paid trip to Hawaii. They tell everyone. Then they get home and find out the surprise is....pizza for dinner.
May 10, 2021
A fabulous book. I borrowed it from the library but loved it so much I went out and bought my own copy. Fantastic illustrations accompany this funny story about how quickly an imagination can run wild and how quickly gossip can spread.
August 31, 2025
Lucky by David Mackintosh shows how children mix their own stories with real life since their thinking is still growing, making even ordinary days feel exciting. It’s a sweet reminder that this is just part of how children learn and make sense of the world.
October 3, 2017
Cute story about some kids who jump to conclusions when their mom promises a "surprise" at dinner! Really fun, silly illustrations.
May 2, 2019
The kids enjoyed saying "That can't be the surprise!!!" at every guess in the book. I liked the imaginative typesetting, and the illustrations were definitely fun and funky.
May 5, 2020
This is the 17th book of the pandemic. I am going to try it on my 1st graders. I will update the review afterward.
August 16, 2025
I loved this little book!
February 8, 2017
So silly! What is the surprise? I can't wait to find out!
February 15, 2017
• Summary: Will and his younger brother, Leo, leave for school one morning knowing that their parents will have a surprise for them when they get home. On the way, the boys contemplate all the different things it could be…a pool, a new car, a new room. They eventually settle that it is an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii; Will tells everyone at school about the surprise and the principal even gives the entire school free time to celebrate. When the boys get home, Will is extremely disappointed to discover that the surprise is not a trip to Hawaii…it is pizza for dinner. He goes to his room upset, trying to decide what he is going to tell everyone at school; in the end, Leo is able to lift Will’s mood by the end by making dinner and pizza Hawaiian themed, and Will feels extremely lucky for his younger brother’s imagination and spirit.
• Theme: In the end, it is important to remember to be grateful for what you have because many other people may not have access to the same things. Will’s mood is spoiled because he does not get to go to Hawaii but when he sees how excited his brother is about the dinner, he realizes that is luckier than other kids who may not have dinner on the table at night.
• Rating: 3 stars
• Personal Response: I really enjoyed the book and Will’s imagination; however, I felt like the lesson at the end could have been developed a little more. Maybe having the parents talk to him at the end would have helped communicate the message a little better. Poverty and wealth are things that affect people on all social spectrums, and it is important for children to understand that although it is okay to have an imagination and desire for extraordinary things, they first need to appreciate the every day things they have access to. As a kid, my parents used to always remind us that not everyone had three meals a day and all the toys in the world. Other than the actual text of the book, I thought the illustrations were phenomenal and a great expression of imagination and creativity.
• Recommendation: I would recommend this book for 5-8 year olds. If the lesson is twisted in such a way, it is a great way to teach children to look at all of the blessings they already have in their life and appreciate those first. The illustrations are fun and children will get hooked on what they surprise could be.
• Theme: In the end, it is important to remember to be grateful for what you have because many other people may not have access to the same things. Will’s mood is spoiled because he does not get to go to Hawaii but when he sees how excited his brother is about the dinner, he realizes that is luckier than other kids who may not have dinner on the table at night.
• Rating: 3 stars
• Personal Response: I really enjoyed the book and Will’s imagination; however, I felt like the lesson at the end could have been developed a little more. Maybe having the parents talk to him at the end would have helped communicate the message a little better. Poverty and wealth are things that affect people on all social spectrums, and it is important for children to understand that although it is okay to have an imagination and desire for extraordinary things, they first need to appreciate the every day things they have access to. As a kid, my parents used to always remind us that not everyone had three meals a day and all the toys in the world. Other than the actual text of the book, I thought the illustrations were phenomenal and a great expression of imagination and creativity.
• Recommendation: I would recommend this book for 5-8 year olds. If the lesson is twisted in such a way, it is a great way to teach children to look at all of the blessings they already have in their life and appreciate those first. The illustrations are fun and children will get hooked on what they surprise could be.
November 19, 2014
Before they leave for school, a mother tells her two sons that there will be a surprise at dinner. Inspired by their surroundings as they walk to school, the young narrator and his brother Leo try to guess what the surprise could be. After ruling out a new bike, a swimming pool, or another bedroom (so they don’t have to share), the two decide it MUST be a vacation to Hawaii, which their parents won from a radio contest. The fact that they do not actually know what the surprise is doesn’t keep them from sharing the good news with their friends and fellow classmates, so the discovery that the surprise is a bit more mundane—pizza for dinner, to be exact—is a bit of a letdown, to say the least. The mixed media illustrations give the feeling of a broad landscape that feeds the boys’ imagination—endless parked cars that inspire the idea of a new car, a layered fountain that suggests a swimming pool, or a travel brochure from Hawaii that leads to the erroneous conclusion. The design also gives the book a creative, freethinking feel, with larger fonts indicating different ideas and smaller fonts for asides or letdowns, all scattered around the page. Pair this with Fucile’s Let’s Do Nothing! for a creative and silly storytime on imagination.
Copy received for review for the Children's Literature Database
Copy received for review for the Children's Literature Database
December 27, 2016
Imagination is one of the most powerful tools children have when dealing with reality, when trying to understand it and also during the process of including themselves in it. In order to be successful, they make suppositions or create contexts and everything that is new stimulates their creativity.
Lucky is a very funny story about two boys whose mother tells them that they are going to have a surprise for dinner. So, the two spend the whole day thinking of what the surprise can be. With very good subtlety David Mackintosh shows the different perspectives children and grown-ups have when referring to reality (or fantasy).
Leo and his brother confer sensational, almost unrealistic qualities to their surprise:
"Maybe it’s tickets to the Amazing Yo-Yo Super Show.
Maybe it’s a brand new car! My brother thinks our old one smells funny.
Maybe we’re getting a swimming pool in the backyard."
And the list continues until they find the most convenient solution and conclude:
"Hey! I bet we’re going to Hawaii for two weeks: all expenses paid!"
See full review on blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...
Lucky is a very funny story about two boys whose mother tells them that they are going to have a surprise for dinner. So, the two spend the whole day thinking of what the surprise can be. With very good subtlety David Mackintosh shows the different perspectives children and grown-ups have when referring to reality (or fantasy).
Leo and his brother confer sensational, almost unrealistic qualities to their surprise:
"Maybe it’s tickets to the Amazing Yo-Yo Super Show.
Maybe it’s a brand new car! My brother thinks our old one smells funny.
Maybe we’re getting a swimming pool in the backyard."
And the list continues until they find the most convenient solution and conclude:
"Hey! I bet we’re going to Hawaii for two weeks: all expenses paid!"
See full review on blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...
Read
November 30, 2016 Lucky is about two brothers who are trying to guess what their mother’s surprise is. Before they leave for school their mother tells them that she has a surprise for them when they get home. On their way to school, the two brothers take turns trying to guess what it is. They come to the conclusion that it is a trip to Hawaii, and before they know it, their whole school knows. However, once they return home, their idea of the surprise isn’t exactly the surprise their mom had in mind.
David Mackintosh uses different mediums in this book for the illustrations. He uses pencil, crayon, old pictures, and paint to create the illustrations. The illustrations are very colorful and creative and tell the story very well. The details in the illustrations really help make the story come together.
Mackintosh, D. (2014). Lucky. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
David Mackintosh uses different mediums in this book for the illustrations. He uses pencil, crayon, old pictures, and paint to create the illustrations. The illustrations are very colorful and creative and tell the story very well. The details in the illustrations really help make the story come together.
Mackintosh, D. (2014). Lucky. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
October 18, 2014
Leo and his brother just can't wait to find out what surprise Mom has in store for them. Both boys try hard to guess what it might be, and the narrator's imagination runs wild with all the possibilities. Once they arrive home, there is a surprise, but it's nothing like the boys had imagined. Many young readers will be able to relate to the narrator's disappointment while also being glad for Leo's ability to put a positive spin on everything. The illustrations are filled with bright colors and large font sizes that show the boys' excitement and the narrator's disappointment.
September 27, 2014
Free-flowing illustrations reflect the free-flowing imagination of the boy as he brainstorms all day while trying to guess the surprise Mom has coming that evening.
How he will handle his embarrassment when people at school find out his family has NOT won a trip to Hawaii is not solved, and he still has to share his room with his brother, which all seems like a let down after a day-long build up to something really surprising. Yet, this does reflect how a child would hope extraordinary things!
How he will handle his embarrassment when people at school find out his family has NOT won a trip to Hawaii is not solved, and he still has to share his room with his brother, which all seems like a let down after a day-long build up to something really surprising. Yet, this does reflect how a child would hope extraordinary things!
September 22, 2015
A great book about imagination and exaggeration and what can happen when stories get out of control. Leo and his brother are told there is a surprise in store for them when they get home... maybe it's a trip to Hawaii!! It's not. But they make the best of it, even if they tell stories to their friends at school. A longer book, but with a fun story line, it would still be a great read aloud for slightly older children.
January 28, 2015
Incredible art and illustrations. Students will enjoy taking time to examine each page and discovery all of the different elements presented. A great lesson on how sometimes a story can get out of hand quickly, especially if you don't set the facts straight from the beginning. The ending will leave some students wondering about what happens at school the next day.
April 23, 2015
A boy and his brother let their imaginations run wild while speculating about a promised dinnertime surprise. The pictures are distinctive although not entirely to my taste. Some of the retro illustrations struck me as more likely to resonate with adults than with kids (for example, the Hawaii vintage postcard collage spread showing pink motel signs and women in 50s-style bikinis).
October 3, 2015
The illustrations were great! My 5-year-old particularly liked the pictures that were made with crayon. I wasn't crazy about the story as we were reading it, but by the end it really came together. I think the concept is really cute. A better title could have been chosen, though. I also liked the little author blurb on the inside jacket of the book - it was really creatively written.
January 13, 2015
A fun take on children's wild imaginations and all the crazy things they think up when told a surprise is on the way. Illustrations are a mix of styles and packed with details, making the reader want to linger on each page to soak everything in. Good book for making predictions.
July 12, 2016
Meh. All this build up for a lame surprise. Too many words per page and too many pages to make it appropriate for storytime. The illustrations were cute, but not particularly whimsical or unique. I'm not impressed at all.
August 24, 2014
Hilarious.
October 6, 2014
When Mom announces there will be a surprise at dinner, the imaginations of two brothers run outrageously wild.
December 31, 2014
Quirky, interesting, funny, brotherly love...but a little too long and disjointed.
January 6, 2015
This book features a sweet, everyday plot (trying to guess a surprise, getting ahead of yourself) and an interesting artistic style that simultaneously sketchy and full of fun details.
January 7, 2015
Quick write: Pause from reading after the mother announces there will be a surprise at dinner. What might the surprise be?
February 6, 2015
Made me laugh!!
Funny how wild children's imaginations can run.
Funny how wild children's imaginations can run.
March 17, 2015
When Leo's mother announces there will be a surprise at dinner, Leo and his brother are desperate to find out what it is, and their imaginations run wild.
May 28, 2015
Mom's says she has a surprise for the boys. They build up their hopes and convince themselves and their classmates that she has won an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii. Well, not exactly.
July 19, 2015
ha, great story about kids who let their imaginations run away from them, fun illustrations
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews