If you have a child who loves inventing, problem-solving and a good adventure, then Penny & Luck: The Shadows of Rosehall is definitely one to have on your radar.
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Written by Claire Karwowski and illustrated by Siân Roberts, The Shadows of Rosehall is the first Penny & Luck chapter book published by DK flip. A big thank you to Chloe at DK for sending this wonderful title my way. There was no expectation to review Penny & Luck, however, how could I not share this one. It’s got so many things we love all in one package!
It combines a portal fantasy adventure with STEM, inventions and plenty of problem-solving – but what I’ve particularly enjoyed is just how much personality it has. And that personality largely comes from Penny herself.
Meet Penny & Luck
Nine-year-old Penny Jones is an inventor, adventurer and wonderfully plucky wee thing. She’s the youngest in her family, with three older brothers who she is very close to, and she’s used to them all joining on adventures.
This summer, however, her brothers have been busy and their usual escapades haven’t happened. Penny has been looking forward to the final day of the holidays when they’re due to have their big Invention Quest together.
There’s just one problem. Her brothers have left all their homework until the end of the holidays and now they can’t go. Penny is understandably disappointed. However, the Mean Green has other ideas!
The mysterious, enormous plant in the family’s garden whisks Penny and her corgi sidekick, Luck, through a portal and into a magical world. Here, bicycles can fly, birds can be as big as watermelons and Penny meets Daya, Princess of Rosehall, who is on a quest to save her kingdom.
Suddenly Penny (and Luck) have rather more of an adventure than she bargained for. If you have a child like my daughter who loves animals they are going to fall in love with the character Luck!
I don’t want to give too much of the plot away because discovering what is really happening in Rosehall is a large part of the fun. Suffice to say, things aren’t necessarily quite as straightforward as they first appear.
A STEM Heroine in a Magical World
One of my favourite things about The Shadows of Rosehall is that Penny finds herself in a world filled with magic, but Penny herself doesn’t need magical powers to be useful. Her strength is her ability to think. She observes; asks questions; gathers information; comes up with ideas; invents things. And, importantly, when something doesn’t work or new information comes to light, she thinks again.
That’s a really lovely message for children. There are also opportunities within the story to explore ideas around evidence and assumptions. Penny gradually has to question whether everything she’s been told – and everything she initially believes – is necessarily correct.
It gives the adventure another layer without turning it into a book that feels as though it’s trying to teach a lesson.
BOOYAH!
Penny also has a lot of personality. One word you’ll encounter rather frequently is:
BOOYAH!
It’s Penny’s enthusiastic exclamation when she’s excited or triumphant – somewhere between “YES!”, “Woohoo!” and “I did it!” This has already become a favourite with Floss.
It’s a tiny detail, but it’s a good example of why Penny works so well as a character. She’s enthusiastic, impulsive, curious and very ready for an adventure.
A Brilliantly Designed Chapter Book
I also want to mention the physical design of this book because I think it makes quite a difference to who will enjoy reading it independently.
At 224 pages, The Shadows of Rosehall is a considerable step up from very early chapter books. However, it doesn’t feel like a dense 224-page novel when you open it.
The font is a good size with generous spacing, and Siân Roberts’ black-and-white illustrations regularly break up the text. Some are smaller character illustrations, while other scenes stretch across much of a page or an entire spread.
I particularly love the playful typography. Important words, thoughts and exclamations change size, weight and typeface, sometimes becoming almost part of the illustration itself. It gives the pages movement and makes the story feel lively.
Even the opening tells us a lot about Penny visually. We meet her upside down in an armchair with her nose in a book, surrounded by tools, plans, inventions and general workshop chaos, with Luck snoozing nearby. Before you’ve read very far at all, you already have a good idea of the sort of child Penny is.
What age is Penny & Luck suitable for?
The publisher suggests ages 6–8, and I’d personally say around 6/7+, with the caveat that children reading independently will probably benefit from already having a little reading stamina.
For me, this feels ideal for children beginning to venture beyond very early chapter books and wanting something a little meatier without suddenly being faced with pages and pages of uninterrupted text.
If the story appeals but the length feels a little daunting, it would also make a lovely shared read. You could take turns – you read a page and then your child reads a page. It helps keep the story moving at a meaningful pace while still giving them plenty of opportunity to build their reading stamina.
The Inventor’s Notebook
There’s another feature I particularly loved at the back of the book: the Inventor’s Notebook.
I love it when reading inspires writing, drawing, investigating or making, and this feels like the sort of addition that could genuinely prompt children to start an inventor’s notebook of their own.
It doesn’t need to become a formal activity book. A plain notebook would be perfect for jotting down:
- problems that need solving
- strange questions and things to investigate
- invention ideas
- sketches and labelled diagrams
- improvements to existing objects
- wonderfully wild ideas that might not actually be possible…yet!
There’s something rather nice about a child finishing a story about an enthusiastic young inventor and thinking, I could invent something too. And if you want to take that idea further, there are some excellent free resources available.
Free Penny & Luck Teacher and Inventor Resources
There are two free downloadable packs available to accompany the book.
The first is a substantial 13-page Educator Guide written by former early childhood educator Jessica Danelson. It’s designed around US Grades 1–3, so the curriculum standards are US-specific, but don’t let that put you off if you’re elsewhere – there’s plenty in here that could be used in a classroom or for home education.
There are reflection and discussion questions for every chapter, covering everything from predictions and inference to family, nature, problem-solving, emotions, evidence and scientific thinking. The guide also suggests children keep an Inventor’s Notebook as they read, recording predictions, problems Penny encounters, evidence, inventions and their own ideas.
At the end, there’s a fantastic Penny’s Inventor Workshop Challenge. Children choose one of the problems Penny encounters in the story, brainstorm possible inventions, create a labelled design and then build a prototype using simple materials such as cardboard, tape, craft sticks, pipe cleaners and recycled materials. Crucially, they’re encouraged to test and improve their invention rather than simply make something once.
There’s also a hands-on activity inspired by Penny’s “Don’t Stop Disco Ball”, which introduces children to exploring pendulum movement through prediction, observation and changing variables.
Penny & Luck Inventor’s Guide
The second free resource is an 8-page Inventor’s Guide, and this is probably the one I’d reach for first at home. It takes children through three beautifully simple stages:
Observe → Ask Questions → Problem Solve with Invention
Children begin by choosing an everyday object and studying it closely using their senses. Next they’re encouraged to think of something they’ve always wondered about, consider why it happens and think about who they could ask to discover more.
Finally, they identify something in everyday life that’s difficult or annoying and invent something that could make it better, drawing their invention and labelling its parts. There are extra Inventor’s Journal pages afterwards for continuing to brainstorm.
It’s exactly the sort of natural extension I like: read about someone being inventive and then have a go yourself.
You can find both free downloads on the Penny & Luck resources page at Penguin Random House.
Penny & Luck: Inventing Stuff – Free STEM Podcast for Kids
Something I hadn’t realised initially is that Penny and Luck didn’t actually begin with The Shadows of Rosehall. The characters already had their own children’s STEM podcast: Penny & Luck: Inventing Stuff.
The free podcast explores the science and history behind inventions, with Penny and Luck discovering how and why different things came to be invented. I really like this connection because it means children can move between fiction and factual STEM without leaving characters they already know.
Rather than the podcast simply retelling the book, it offers something different. A child might read about Penny using her inventing skills in a fantasy adventure and then listen to stories about inventions and inventors in the real world.
You can listen to Penny & Luck: Inventing Stuff on Apple Podcasts.
Yoto Make Your Own Cards: Penny & Luck Podcast RSS Feed
If you use a podcast app or another service that allows you to add podcasts directly using an RSS feed, here’s the feed address to copy below. Don’t use it as a link but copy and paste into your service.
https://anchor.fm/s/6a476c0/podcast/rss
If you have the Yoto app then you can add it using the podcast adding feature in the app. Use the RSS feed address above.
Find out more about how to add podcasts to your Yoto Make Your Own cards here.
More Penny & Luck to Explore
There’s also a dedicated Penny & Luck website where you can find the podcast and sign up for the Penny & Luck newsletter.
The newsletter is another nice option for children who enjoy the STEM side of Penny’s world, with bite-sized science and invention content and activities alongside news about Penny & Luck. It means The Shadows of Rosehall can potentially become the starting point rather than the end:
Read the adventure → listen to real invention stories → explore the free resources → start an Inventor’s Notebook → come up with inventions of your own.
Who Is Claire Karwowski?
The Shadows of Rosehall is Claire Karwowski’s debut novel, but Penny and Luck have been around for much longer through the Inventing Stuff podcast.
Karwowski’s background in creating content for children really comes through in Penny. She’s a character who is allowed to be clever without being serious all the time. She’s curious and resourceful, but she’s also funny, enthusiastic and occasionally wonderfully over-the-top. And yes, there’s plenty of BOOYAH!
Penny & Luck: The Shadows of Rosehall – Our Thoughts
I think what I’ve enjoyed most about The Shadows of Rosehall is how naturally everything fits together. It’s a fantasy adventure first. Children aren’t being asked to read a disguised science lesson. Penny just happens to approach problems with the curiosity and mindset of an inventor.
I love Penny as a character. She’s plucky, enthusiastic and determined, but there’s warmth to her too – particularly in her relationship with her brothers and with Luck.
The accessible page design and abundance of Siân Roberts’ illustrations also make this a particularly appealing next step for children beginning to move into longer chapter books.
Then there’s everything that can come afterwards. The Inventor’s Notebook at the back of the book, free Inventor’s Guide, more detailed Educator Guide and Inventing Stuff podcast provide lots of opportunities to follow a child’s curiosity without needing to turn the story into a lesson. That’s probably the aspect I like most.
A child can simply read Penny & Luck and enjoy a funny, magical adventure. But if it leaves them wanting to fill a notebook with questions, diagrams and completely bonkers inventions afterwards?
BOOYAH!
Where to Buy Penny & Luck: The Shadows of Rosehall
Penny & Luck: The Shadows of Rosehall by Claire Karwowski is available in paperback. You can find it through major booksellers and independent bookshops.
Buy Penny & Luck: The Shadows of Rosehall:
More STEM Books, Activities & Podcasts
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- The Encyclopedia of STEM Words – A colourful introduction to vocabulary from science, technology, engineering and maths for curious children.
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- Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines – Science Capital – Explore machines, investigate how things work and encourage children to discover science through practical activities.
- The Download – Yoto’s Podcast for Curious Kids – Discover Yoto’s free podcast exploring fascinating questions and topics for curious children.