365 Penguins

Some students have heard of this book already, and say they love it. Students who are new to this book, enjoy discussing the story. Thank you!

Reviewed by Three Silly Chicks - Readers, Writers, and Reviewers of funny books for kids. It's hard not to love penguins. They are such spiffy dressers and great tap dancers. (This was actually documented in a recent motion picture!) Imagine how exciting it would be to receive a penguin in a box on New Year's Day with only a simple note to explain, "I'm number 1. Feed me when I'm hungry." Now imagine the surprise and joy of receiving another penguin the next morning. And the next and the next and the next . . . For a full year, the family in this funny picture book receives a penguin a day and problems multiply as their flock grows. Dad becomes obsessed with organizing the penguins. Mom gets more than a little crazed and the kids just go with the flow. Or is that floe? Simple graphic-arts style illustrations in a limited palette and a large trim size for this book make it great for young kids who will get a kick out of counting the very silly penguins and finding the one with blue feet who shows up on day 144. (Visualize a penguin-Waldo who eats fish.) Older kids and parents will enjoy the family's reaction to the penguins as the year progresses and they are so horribly outnumbered. A bit of math and ecology play into the tale, but never overload the story in this delightful book. Makes you want to put on a tux and dance like a penguin!

My boys ages 6 and 7 love this book. The illustrations are wonderful, and the story is fun! I like that it covers math concepts of addition, multiplication, etc. For example, 100 penguins plus one more makes 101. Stacking penguins 6 by 6 by 6 in a cube makes ... filing them in 12 boxes of 12 makes ... Some if the math is way too advanced for my children, but I doubt kids much older would be terribly interested in the writing or illustrations. Although some of the math is advanced, my children nevertheless enjoy the book, and I think that exposing them to these math concepts is great!!! We also love looking for the penguin named Chilly in each scene. There is a global warning lecture on one of the last pages, which sounds very preachy and doesn't fit into the rhythm or tone of the story, but I don't mind the message, so it doesn't bother me. This is a good book for kids ages 5 - 9.

This is a great book for young children! It helps them to learn better math skills in this book. It's a wonderful way for children to have fun with math by reading about these cute little penguins. Cynthia Marie Rizzo, author of "Julie and the Unicorn" and "Angela and the Princess"

This is great, every elementary school teacher should have one in their classroom. It involves math and science concepts, as well as reading and comprehension. Don't forget to look for Chilly!

On New Year's Day, a delivery man drops off a mysterious package. The family is curious. Who would send such a strange gift? Who would send a penguin? The next day, another penguin arrives with another cryptic note. The same thing occurs 363 more times---once for each day of the year. The family uses their math skills to determine how many penguins reside in their house. They also use math to determine how to store them. If they store them like eggs, how many cartons do they need? If they stack them in a cube, how many penguins will fit? On December 31st, the gift giver arrives and is thrilled to see that all his penguins arrived, even little Chilly with the blue feet. The visitor gives a quick ecology (and geography!)lesson and leaves with all but one of the penguins. Things return to normal at this house until the next day when the doorbell rings and the story goes full circle. What a CUTE book! My kids loved looking for Little Chilly with the blue feet on every page. They had fun thinking about the math, although at one point complained, "Do you expect us to be able to do this?" It was fun thinking about the problems the family had sheltering and feeding the penguins. This oversized book is an entertaining read, but teachers will especially enjoy this book for the classroom. It appears it would tie-in well with third grade geography lessons and introductory multiplication lessons. Whether or not you're interested in the educational themes, everyone will enjoy the adorable penguins and the zany family who cares for them.