Penny and Her Song

Very cute, short, simple little story. I really like the artwork that goes along with the story; I think it is perfect. I notice the same cheerful, pastel colors are repeated on all the pages. I felt cheerful after reading it.

This was a cute book, I thought the storyline was very weak I don't really think it had a point, however I think it is a cute book for young girls that just need to practice reading. This could be used in a reading corner of as a partner reading book in the classroom. It is longer than normal picture books so I think it would be good practice for students learning to read.

Penny and her Song was a cute picturebook that I enjoyed reading. One aspect of the story that I liked was the illustrations. The illustrations were very visually appealing and contributed to the progression of the story. On page 20, there is a picture of each character, which shows the reader exactly how they’re feeling; each illustration corresponds to the text.

Another thing that I really liked about this story was the development of the main character, Penny. The reader really got to see who Penny was, which allowed the reader to relate to her better. The author explicitly states how Penny feels and the reader follows Penny’s emotions throughout the entire story. For example, on page 9, it says, “Penny stopped. She wanted show more someone to listen to her.” This explicit statement is extremely relatable for all audiences. Penny wanted to be heard with her song, but others can relate to just wanting to be heard.

The main idea of the story was that patience is key. Penny waited all day to sing her song. At first, she would continue to get interrupted whenever she started singing. For example, when she started to sing at dinner, her mom said “Not at the table.” Penny was forced to wait until it was the perfect time. Once it was time to sing her song, she got great satisfaction and her family was able to enjoy it as well. Waiting for the right time can be a hard lesson to learn, but it is very rewarding. show less

Summary:
Penny comes home from school one day eager to share a song with her mother, father, and two little siblings. Every time she starts to sing, she gets shut down because "the babies are sleeping," or it is not appropriate at the dinner table. She finally gets to share her song, and her family loves it. They all dress up and sing-a-long with Penny. Once every one is exhausted from singing, it is time for bed. Penny worries that she will not remember her song, although Momma and Poppa ensure her that she will. Penny wakes up happily the next morning having remembered her song.

The central message of this book is to take pride in your own creations, such as creating a song, but be respectful to understand when it is appropriate to show more share. I really enjoyed this simplistic chapter book that is geared for children in grades K-2. By separating the story into chapters, it helps the children follow along with each section of the story. I really like how the author and illustrators made the characters into mice. I also like how the mice were dressed up in human clothes, such as polka dot dresses, slacks, and sweaters. I also like how the illustrations were confined by a box, therefore; there was room for the large text to be on the same page as the pictures. I thought there should have been more added to the story to make it more interesting. In other words, I thought the plot was very basic. show less

4. Penny And Her Song, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, Copyright 2012 HarperCollins Publishers, is a Fantasy picture book about a young mouse and how she tries to get attention in her house. This is a good book for children in kindergarten and the first grade. I liked the books illustration, use of third person narrative, and how it can relate to children of large families. The illustrations fit very nice into the story. There are two illustrations per page, one above the text and one bellow. The illustrations are also small and do not overwhelm the page. I like this because the illustrations are not so big that they take away from the text and story yet they are not so small that you cannot see them. The illustrations give us show more an idea of what is going on yet they do not detract us from the story. My favorite illustration is on page 17. This is a beautifully illustrated part where we can see the whole family and their joy in Penny’s song. The illustrations look to be pencil drawn which gives fine detail to the characters. Third person is my favorite type of narrative. In third person the reader can see multiple points of views, unlike in first person where only one view is available. In Penny and Her Song we see from both Penny and her parent’s point of view. We see Penny wanting to show her parents her song and we also see her parents to busy with house work and her siblings to pay attention .This gave me, the reader, an outside view of her family and how difficult it is to get attention in it. This story can make people think about how difficult it can be to get attention in a large family. This opened my mind and expanded my thoughts to how large families function. The big idea in this story is Family. Penny lives in a large family but her parents have the same amount of love for her and her siblings. They will never play favorites and they will always be there for every child. show less

I loved that Penny sang to herself, it reminded me of how I was always singing, even when it was not wanted. In the end her parents realized that her singing actually helped her siblings rather than annoy them. It was a cute story, however it is not a book I would teach, but rather have it around for children to pick on their own. I also loved that the characters were all mice, it added an extra ounce of fantasy into the book.

This was a short chapter book. It was about Penny and how she wanted to share her song with someone who would listen. Her parents didn't want her to sing because the babies were sleeping so she went upstairs and tried to sing to herself- but it didn't work. Then she tried to sing at the dinner table. Her parents stopped her and told her to "Not sing at the table". So after dinner, Penny sang her song. Her parents and her siblings loved it and sang along with her, then they all put on a show. After their show was finished it was time for bed. The moral of the story was that Penny's song actually put the babies to sleep instead of waking them up! When Penny went to sleep she was afraid she wouldn't remember her song in the morning, but show more she did! I liked this book because it was another Kevin Henkes book, and because it's a type of book that children would be proud of themselves for reading. As a child, I remember reading "chapter books" and thinking I was very smart and could read anything. This is that type of book, because even though there are short chapters, and an easy plot to follow, children would be proud to get through the whole book. The illustrations were mice as always, and I thought the story had a clear beginning, middle, and end. show less