Lucky Beans

Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell

It is the 1930s, and like many other workers during the Great Depression, Marshall Loman’s dad has lost his job. There’s not enough money, and there are too many beans. Ma cooks beans for supper every single night!

Marshall is tired of eating beans. But maybe if he puts together Ma’s knowledge of beans with the lessons he’s learning in arithmetic class, they can guess how many beans are in the big jar and win the contest.

Lucky Beans is based on true stories from my grandmother's life. Lucky Beans is my second book for children.

Ten Things That Lucky Beans Is About

1. Beans
   
   
2. The Great Depression
   
   
3. Family
   
   
4. African Americans
   
   
5. Contests
   
   
6. Math (counting, measuring, estimating, big numbers)
   
   
7. Cooking (food and nutrition)
   
   
8. American History
   
   
9. The 1930s
   
   
10. Winning
    
    

“Math and wry comedy mix in this lively historical story....”
— Hazel Rochman, Booklist

“The family works together to survive and finds moments of love, appreciation and sheer happiness.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Lucky Beans can be used across the curriculum to educate while it entertains.”
– Mary Landrum, School Library Journal

“Lucky Beans is an ideal choice when seeking picture books that are rich in substantive content.”
– Yana V. Rodgers, Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children

“Kids will enjoy learning about history and math from this gentle, funny book.” - Jyotsna Sreenivasan, Gender Equality Bookstore