Penny and Her Marble

by Kevin Henkes

Overview

Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes’s award-winning Penny returns in the third I Can Read story about a sweet and curious mouse, perfect for fans of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Owen, and Chrysanthemum. 

When Penny spots a marble in Mrs. Goodwin's front yard, she picks it up, puts it in her pocket, and takes it home. It's a beautiful marble—it's big, shiny, blue, smooth, and fast, and Penny loves it. But does the marble really belong to Penny?

Penny and Her Marble was named a 2014 Geisel Honor book by the American Library Association. This annual award, given to the most distinguished books for beginning readers, is named for the world-renowned children's author Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss.

Kevin Henkes is a master at creating beautifully illustrated books that resonate with young children. The Penny books are new classics for beginning readers and will appeal to fans of Frog and Toad, Little Bear, and Henry and Mudge. Penny and Her Marble is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

Don't miss Penny's newest adventures in Penny and Her Sled!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062082053
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	08/27/2013
Series:	I Can Read Book 1 Series
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	29,818
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; two Newbery Honors—one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller—and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include Sun Flower Lion, A Parade of Elephants, Chrysanthemum, and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in a house in Madison, Wisconsin.

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; two Newbery Honors—one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller—and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include Sun Flower Lion, A Parade of Elephants, Chrysanthemum, and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in a house in Madison, Wisconsin.

Hometown:

Madison, Wisconsin

Date of Birth:

November 27, 1960

Place of Birth:

Racine, Wisconsin

Education:

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Website:

http://www.kevinhenkes.com

Editorial Reviews

Carefully sequenced panels, expressive lines and gentle pastels lead the reader to the story’s joyous resolution.

Washington Post

Praise for Penny and Her Song:“Henkes strikes all the right notes. . . . Language, art, characterization, and plot are all executed, like Penny’s song, beautifully.

Horn Book (starred review)

The text . . . is perfect for new readers, and Henkes’s familiar artwork has its share of warm moments. This early reader captures the way families make memories at unexpected moments. Welcome Penny to the cast.

Booklist (starred review)

Splendid . . . Henkes so completely understands the minds of small children. . . . His vivacious panels always seem to burst with springtime. It’s hard to imagine anything ever going too wrong in one of his sensitive, generous portrayals. Everything here ends just right.

New York Times Book Review

Henkes so completely understands the minds of small children. He so charmingly depicts them as mice. His vivacious panels always seem to burst with springtime.

The New York Times - Pamela Paul

Henkes ups the emotional stakes in his third book starring Penny, in which guilt hangs heavily over the young mouse. Penny is instantly smitten with the blue marble she discovers on a neighbor’s lawn, and she sneaks it into her pocket. Her backward-glancing eyes as she runs home clue readers in that she’s ambivalent about her decision, something she considers for the next few chapters. Henkes crystallizes the way guilt worms its way into the mind of someone who suspects she’s in the wrong, while putting his heroine at ease in the final pages. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

“Perfect for beginning readers. A treasure.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Henkes continues to plumb the emotional world of childhood as few author/illustrators can. . . . Another gem.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Impeccable. . . . Respect for the beginning reader’s emerging skills beautifully matches Henkes’s respect for Penny .” — Horn Book (starred review)

“Splendid . . . Henkes so completely understands the minds of small children. . . . His vivacious panels always seem to burst with springtime. It’s hard to imagine anything ever going too wrong in one of his sensitive, generous portrayals. Everything here ends just right.” — New York Times Book Review

“Henkes ups the emotional stakes in his third book starring Penny.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Henkes conveys shades of emotions that are common to human experience, yet hard to express in words. It’s particularly impressive that he can do so in a book for beginning readers. . . . This small-scale, yet immensely satisfying drama is a fine addition to the Penny series.” — Booklist (starred review)

Praise for Penny and Her Song: “Henkes strikes all the right notes. . . . Language, art, characterization, and plot are all executed, like Penny’s song, beautifully.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“The text . . . is perfect for new readers, and Henkes’s familiar artwork has its share of warm moments. This early reader captures the way families make memories at unexpected moments. Welcome Penny to the cast.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Much as he did in Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Henkes presents an irrepressible heroine who struggles to compromise.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Carefully sequenced panels, expressive lines and gentle pastels lead the reader to the story’s joyous resolution.” — Washington Post

From the Publisher

Carefully sequenced panels, expressive lines and gentle pastels lead the reader to the story’s joyous resolution.

Washington Post

"The text . . . is perfect for new readers, and Henkes’s familiar artwork has its share of warm moments. This early reader captures the way families make memories at unexpected moments. Welcome Penny to the cast."

Booklist

"Impeccable. . . . Respect for the beginning reader’s emerging skills beautifully matches Henkes’s respect for Penny ."

Horn Book

PreS-Gr 2—In the latest installment in the series, the young mouse is pushing her doll's stroller down the block when she spies a marble on her neighbor's lawn. After furtively looking around, Penny drops it in her pocket and races home. At first she delights in her new treasure, enjoying how smooth it feels between her fingers and how fast it rolls across the floor, but then she is overcome with guilt for taking something that doesn't belong to her. Henkes's nuanced watercolor and ink illustrations capture the shame-filled mouse hiding behind curtains. As she continues to worry, she loses her appetite: "The oranges in the bowl looked like big orange marbles. The peas on her plate looked like little green marbles." After a dream-filled night, Penny decides to put the marble back where she found it. When confronted by Mrs. Goodwin, Penny's "cheeks were hot. She could not speak," but her kind neighbor reassures her that she put the marble on the grass hoping someone would pick it up. Readers will empathize with Penny and her conflicted emotions. The short sentences with plenty of repetition and superb pacing make this title perfect for beginning readers. A treasure.—Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

School Library Journal

Whose marble is it? In this third early reader about a little anthropomorphic mouse named Penny, Henkes continues to plumb the emotional world of childhood as few author/illustrators can. The story begins with Penny taking a walk and pushing her beloved doll, Rose, in a stroller. She heeds Mama's admonition that she "[o]nly go as far as Mrs. Goodwin's house," and when she arrives there, she spies a shiny blue marble at the edge of the lawn. Though unsure whether she should do so, Penny pockets the glinting little orb and scurries home. Later, Penny's conscience bothers her, and the marble hidden in her drawer adopts a presence akin to Poe's telltale heart. She can't bring herself to tell her concerned parents what is bothering her, and after a fitful night's sleep, she goes for another walk to return the marble. Hoping to make a quick getaway after surreptitiously replacing it, Penny is worried when her neighbor approaches. Will Mrs. Goodwin be angry that she took the marble? As it turns out, Mrs. Goodwin purposefully put the marble on her lawn in the hope that someone would find it and take it home as a little treasure. Reassured, Penny thanks Mrs. Goodwin and walks home, imagining herself beside a sea as blue as her new marble. Henkes' characteristically meticulous vignettes both expand the story and provide picture clues to help new readers along. Another gem. (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews