Penny and Her Song

Mouse Penny wants to share her new song, but its performance will have to wait: "...the babies are asleep." Penny quietly plays with her toys, waiting for her delayed gratification--when the whole family can enjoy it. In his first beginning reader, Henkes strikes all the right notes. Language, art, characterization, and plot are all executed, like Penny's song, beautifully.

A stimulating easy reader with an engaging story and a likable main character. Word repetition, a natural part of the narrative, will help new readers with comprehension. Fans of Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes will be thrilled to meet Penny, the latest mouse protagonist from the creator of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Owen, and Chrysanthemum. Children will identify with Penny’s urgent desire to sing her song and frustration that she must wait and wait to share it. They may also relate to Penny’s relationship with her younger siblings. A gentle sense of humor can be found throughout, including in Penny’s lyrics (“One is nice, two is nice, / Three is even better.”), Mama and Papa’s outrageous outfits, and Mama’s observation that she thought Penny’s song would wake the babies and instead it put them to sleep. Henkes’s expressive pastel-colored illustrations, sprinkled with joyful musical notes, exude familial warmth.

We all know the drill: a youngster comes home from school with a piece of art work, gives it to an adult, who, after the requisite oohing and aahing, ceremoniously places it on the refrigerator. But what happens when a child's artistic endeavor is an original song, and its performance will have to wait? This is precisely the situation mouse Penny discovers after she joyfully bursts across the jacket and title page and into the front door ready to share her new song. "‘Your song is beautiful,' said Mama, ‘but you will wake up the babies.'" "‘Your song is wonderful,' said Papa, ‘but the babies are asleep.'" In his first beginning reader, Henkes strikes all the right notes, integrating sight words with vocabulary not found on any standardized list (feather boa, for example) into sentences that sound like real speech. Like a fine tune supporting the lyrics, bright, pastel half-page boxes, spot art, and comic book frames carry the story for unsure novice readers. There's much repetition, often the refrain from that wonderful song, which eases the reading process. But, best of all, the eventual musical celebration is postponed only until the whole family can enjoy it. Clearly Penny understands that dynamic as she quietly plays with her toys, waiting for her delayed gratification. Language, art, characterization, and plot are all executed, like Penny's song, beautifully. betty carter