When Penny comes home from school, she is ready to sing her song. But the babies are sleeping, and Mama and Papa are worried that Penny will wake them up. Oh, but it is a good song, a really wonderful song . . . and Penny wants more than anything to sing it.
What do you think will happen?
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Fun, light read.
By Heidi Grange
In this book, Henkes introduces us to a new character, a character just as interesting and unique as Owen or Lily, a character who loves to sing. Penny arrives home from school wanting to sing her song for her family. After both mom and dad interrupt her performance to remind her that the babies are sleeping and she needs to be quiet, Penny determines to sing her song for herself. But she discovers that singing to herself is just not the same as singing for someone else. She searches her room for someone to perform for without success. Finally, her parents come to her rescue and Penny gets to sing her song.This is a fun story of self-confidence and finding joy in the simple things. It distinctly reminds me of a girl at my school who invents and shares songs at the drop of a hat. This is one of the things I love about working with young children, they are so unselfconscious and so willing to share and they still get excited about simple things. In typical Henkes fashion the illustrations are bright and cheerful and welcoming. I would be surprised if this book doesn't inspire readers to create their own songs, in fact that would be a fun activity to do with this book.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
A delight for new readers
By Great Kid Books
Young children will delight in Kevin Henkes' first book for beginning readers. They will relate to Penny and the way she just wants her parents to listen to her. But most of all, they will delight in singing Penny's song themselves, in bringing alive Henkes' simple words. The illustrations, in softly bright watercolors and clear black ink, support the text on each page. The variety of spot art, half page boxes, and some sequential small boxes adds variety, integrating the illustrations with the text. While Penny will remind readers of Henkes' outgoing Lily, Penny is her own character, singing her own song.This book is perfect for new readers who enjoy simple, sweet family stories. It has delighted several of our 1st graders. I just wish I could capture the way they sang Penny's song for themselves. This won't draw readers who want a big laugh or lots of action. But it will bring a lot of pleasure to a quiet kid.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful.Cute - but now what I was expecting
By IndyMom
Let me start by saying that I LOVE Kevin Henkes! I was so excited when I found out he had a new mouse book. This book is very cute. It is a nice story, and the illustrations are beautiful, as always. My problem is that I was wanting a Kevin Henkes mouse book, and this was just a nice Kevin Henkes picture book. The best part about the mouse books, in my opinion, is that there is such a strong, dominant protagonist with a vibrant, unique personality. The story really revolves around each mouse's personality, and they become characters that my children (and I) grow to love and feel a connection to. Penny, though a cute little mouse, has no real personality. But, all in all, it is a lovely book with a very sweet story. I still enjoyed it.
