Aunt Dew is 100 years old and has come to live with Michael. She has a box with 100 pennies in it for all the years she has lived. Michael loves her and loves the stories she tells when they count the pennies, but his mother wants to replace the box with a newer one.
A Newbery Honor book. Nicely written and beautiful illustrations. ( )

The Hundred Penny Box is about a boy named Michael and a box that his Great Aunt Dew keeps her 100 pennies in. Great Aunt Dew has a penny for each year of her life. Michael’s favorite game is to take out all the pennies and count them with Great Aunt Dew. While he counts out the pennies Great Aunt Dew has a story for each one. The box is very special to Great Aunt Dew, but she is very old and Michael’s mother wants to throw it in the furnace, because she thinks Great Aunt Dew does not need so much stuff. Michael argues with his mom and tells Great Aunt Dew that he will protect her box and hide it from his mom.

This is a very interesting book. In this book it is easy to identify how the different ages of people mix. The young boy Michael and very old Aunt Dew side together to protect all of Aunt Dews stuff from Michael’s mom. This book shows how people devalue others possession and the elderly. Although Michael’s mom is being kind in taking care of Aunt Dew, she thinks she knows what is best for everyone without considering anyone else’s feelings.

This would be a good book to read to children to introduce elderly people, and talk to them about compassion. This would be a great book to send home to a child that is having to adjust to a grandparent or close relative that might live with them who has developed Dementia or Alzheimer’s.

A lovely story about a young boy and his 100 year old great aunt and how she remembers her life through a penny for each year she has lived. ( )

In this book, it is about a family and a great great aunt who puts a penny in a box for year she is alive. After awhile, her age is catching up to her and her grandson is around to help her.
I really liked this book because it shows tradition and tradition does not seem to be around as much anymore. It will also show children, that if you really want something in life, you have to go for it.
A good extension for this book would be having the students make their own box and imagine what they would put in it for each birthday. Another one would be having the students write their own life experience about a tradition their family keeps.

FROM LIBRARY CATATLOG:
A young black boy who deeply loves his hundred-year-old great-great-aunt intercedes with his mother who wants to throw out some of his aunt's beloved ancient possession.