Penny and Her Song

by Kevin Henkes Narrated by Cynthia Nixon

Overview

Meet Penny, the sweet and curious mouse, in Caldecott Medalist and bestselling author Kevin Henkes's instant classic story for young readers, perfect for fans Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Owen, and Chrysanthemum.

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. Will it ever be the right time to sing it?

Penny and Her Song is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Kevin Henkes is a master at creating 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.

Perfect for young readers who love realistic fiction with animal characters, Penny and Her Song is a heartwarming tale about a curious mouse who wants to share her beautiful song with the world.

HarperCollins 2024

Editorial Reviews

Kristi Elle Jemtegaard

Kevin Henkes's first venture into the beginning-reader format is simple proof that less is not only more, it is nearly perfect. Amazingly, this little book shows how much emotion can be conveyed in two short chapters of 73 exceedingly concise sentences, many made up of four words or fewer.
—The Washington Post

From the Publisher

A quiet gem.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Imagination grows and spreads from the fertile pages of this book to the minds of young readers…A must for every library.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“This intimate exploration of a child’s burgeoning imagination hits every note right…Just plain perfect.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Kirkus Reviews

Penny sings a joyful song that resonates in her happy mouse family. At first Mama and Papa are reluctant to hear the song that Penny made up, because they fear she might wake the babies. So she sings to herself in the mirror and to her collection of glass animals, but that's not very satisfying. Finally, after dinner she sings her song, and her parents make a real show of it, wearing costumes and singing with her again and again. All this excitement tires everyone and puts the babies to sleep in their basket. At bedtime, Penny worries that she will forget her song by morning, but when she wakes up, her special song is still with her. Penny joins Lilly and Owen in Henkes' pantheon of mouse children. She is delightfully human as she seeks to divert her parents' attention from the new babies. Henkes' signature crisp and bright watercolor-and-ink illustrations depict every action and emotion and appear in a variety of shapes and sizes, centered in line with large print text and surrounded by white space. He has visited this theme before, in Julius the Baby of the World, but here there is no overt jealousy, and the sweetness level is higher. A charming, child-friendly take on the ever-popular new-baby theme. (Early reader. 3-8)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173494061
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/28/2012
Series:	Kevin Henkes's Mouse Books
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

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