Polka Dot Penguin Pottery

Polka Dot Penguin Pottery

Author: Lenore Look

Illustrator: Yumi Heo

Copyright, Schwartz & Wade 2011

40 pages

 

Multicultural

 

                 I chose this story because it had the word penguin in the title. I am glad that I chose this book. This book is about a little girl who loves to write, she has her very own treehouse where she writes as well. However something is wrong, she cannot think anymore to write. Being sad her grandparents take her to the local pottery shop to paint. As soon as she walks in she is overwhelmed with excitement and joy that she cannot even speak. She walks over and picks out an Easter egg and cannot wait to paint it. Suddenly the shop is filled with friends and parties and everyone is painting. There is a robot, a fire truck and a heart shaped box. However the little girl is sad because she yet again cannot decide what to paint. Will the little girl be able to paint her egg? Will it just be white? Will she get past her writers block? Read Polka Dot Penguin Pottery and you will see.

                This book was set up in a very interesting way. The book was sideways. The book was written to be read long ways and it was very neat. I liked the different point of view that the book had being written that way. I think that it will grab the student’s attention more because it is something that they are not used to seeing. The illustrations in this book were amazing. The pictures were done in watercolor, pen and ink. I think that the pictures in this story were colorful and were appropriate for the book. The pictures were very detailed and helped tell the story. I think that without part of the pictures the story wouldn’t have been told as well. The text in this story might be hard for some students to read. The text moved all over the page, and the text font was different on the different pages and sometimes on the same page it was different. I think that this book would be good for first through sixth grade students. However first graders may need the book read to them or some assistance.

                There can be several classroom connections to go with this book. One connection could be that the students can pick their own object that they would like to paint of their own. The teacher would have several different wooden objects available for the students that they can pick to paint. This would connect the students to the book and also give them some creative freedom. I think that this is crucial for students. Another is the students can write about their own story. It can be anything that they want, but they need to write it. This will also connect them to the character in the story but allows them to think critically. Lastly the students can share the story that they have written in front of the class. Most students love reading things that they have created to show off. Also it will help build the students confidence of reading.