Luck is usually the first unfairness a child notices. Somebody else finds the four-leaf clover, pulls the good card, gets the window seat — and there is no explanation you can practice or earn. Children’s books are unusually good company here, because the best of them refuse to settle the question too early. A found penny turns lucky and then turns on you, a farmer’s horse runs off and nobody can yet say whether that is bad news, and the fox who has caught his dinner is quite sure this is his lucky day.
Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 74 books about luck, our editors chose fourteen that cover the whole range: good-news/bad-news read-alouds for preschoolers, folktales that keep flipping fortune over, leprechaun stories for March, early chapter books about a charm that stops working, and middle grade novels about a family whose luck has genuinely run out. Start with the fixed shortlist below, then browse the picture books and the chapter-book shelf for readers who want a longer losing streak to root against.
Fortunately there was a plane. Unfortunately the motor exploded. Ned’s trip to a surprise party keeps changing its mind.
A piglet knocks on the wrong door, and the fox inside cannot believe his luck — right up until the bath, the meal, and the massage.
One picnic, two friends, and a run of reversals told almost entirely in the words “good news” and “bad news.”
A prized horse runs away. The neighbors announce that this is terrible luck. Sai declines to agree, and keeps declining.
A man whose hut is too small and too noisy asks his Rabbi for help, and is told to move the chickens in. Then the goat. Then the cow.
Stillwater the panda tells three children a story about a farmer whose good and bad luck keep trading places.
An old man in the desert of Drize runs through a long list of creatures whose luck is far worse than yours.
Sam has four dollars of Lunar New Year lucky money and one afternoon in Chinatown to decide what it is for.
The laziest man in Ireland catches a leprechaun, turns down the pot of gold, and asks for a potato seed instead.
A lucky penny wins Judy the bowling game, the spelling bee, and a shot at Washington — right up until it takes a dive into the toilet.
Nate has been the unluckiest kid in Paradise Beach since the day he was born — until lightning strikes him on his eleventh birthday and everything flips.
Greg Heffley hands his decisions over to a Magic 8 Ball, on the reasonable grounds that his own judgment is not working.
Minli spends one of her two copper coins on a goldfish that promises to change her family’s fortune, then goes to ask the Old Man of the Moon to change it properly.
Kouun means good luck in Japanese. Summer’s family has had none of it all year, and the wheat harvest still has to come in.
Fortunately-unfortunately read-alouds, lucky pennies and charms, Lunar New Year money, leprechaun tales, and folktales where nobody can tell good news from bad. Ages 3–8.
A four-leaf clover brings Sophie unexpected misfortune. Can she break the curse?
A young girl's life is affected by the arrival and departure of a pig at an animal shelter she helps run with her friends
A beloved stuffed bunny embarks on an unexpected adventure, testing the bond between a girl and her grandmother.
A chicken's presence grants wishes, but is it magic or coincidence?
A cabin boy's search for a missing cat could change his fate aboard the Titanic.
A cowgirl and her horse discover the essence of friendship.
A duck's bad luck turns around with unexpected gifts. Is it real luck or something else?
Nancy navigates a whirlwind of lucky and unlucky beliefs.
A young girl tries to change her luck after breaking a mirror on Friday the thirteenth.
A girl fears her cat's luck has run out when he vanishes.
Stranded on an island, Eugene finds unexpected help from a parrot.
Four animals fear each other's bad luck on a fishing trip. Can they overcome their misconceptions?
Charms that stop working, jinxed seasons, unlucky classrooms, and longer novels about a run of genuinely terrible luck — for readers ages 6–12.
The winning lottery ticket was divided among the class members, except for one student named Santiago, which led them to embark on a wild journey, buying exotic things and trying unusual things.
Uncover the mystical folklore of nature's secrets and ancient wisdom.
Mia's luck changes with a charm, but can it last?
A misstep leads Annie to an unexpected friendship that changes her life.
A sixth-grader navigates the challenges of middle school, friendships, and growing up.
A hidden fortune in Hollywood awaits discovery. Can Ginger find it in time?
A girl seeks to break her bad luck on a trip to Ireland.
Piper's lucky day turns sour. Can a magical tree reverse her bad luck?
Can two friends restore luck to St. Patrick's Day after goblins steal magical charms?
A girl disguises as a boy to join an army, seeking to lift her family's curse.
A boy must master a magical card game to save his father from a powerful crime lord.
A boy's luck vanishes when a black cat traps his rabbit in a magician's hat.
