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Measuring Penny
Lisa has an important homework assignment--to measure something in several different ways. She has to use standard units like inches and nonstandard units like paper clips to find out height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. Lisa decides to measure her dog, Penny, and finds out ...
Penny's nose = 1 inch long
Penny's tail = 1 dog biscuit long
Penny's paw print = 3 centimeters wide
... and that's only the beginning! Lisa learns a lot about her dog and about measuring, and even has fun doing it.
This clear and engaging concept book, delivered with a sense of humor, is certain to win over the most reluctant mathematician.
Penny's nose = 1 inch long
Penny's tail = 1 dog biscuit long
Penny's paw print = 3 centimeters wide
... and that's only the beginning! Lisa learns a lot about her dog and about measuring, and even has fun doing it.
This clear and engaging concept book, delivered with a sense of humor, is certain to win over the most reluctant mathematician.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 1998
10 people are currently reading
747 people want to read
About the author
Loreen Leedy
62 books38 followersLoreen Leedy is the author and illustrator of over 40 picture books with math, science, language arts, and other curriculum content. Her books showcase information in a kid-friendly format, often with characters and entertaining stories.
Honors and awards for her books include: ALA Notable Book, Science Books and Films finalist, Reading Rainbow feature book, Chicago Library Best of the Best, many Scholastic Book Fair selections, Florida Book Award, Parent's Choice Award, many Junior Library Guild selections, and Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association.
Loreen has spoken at hundreds of schools and many conferences such as the International Reading Association, the American Library Association, the Mazza Summer Conference, and the UVU Engaged Reading Forum.
She lives in central Florida with her husband Andy, who is a scientist and a cat named Knickers who has an easily triggered purrometer. They love to travel, read, and watch movies.
Honors and awards for her books include: ALA Notable Book, Science Books and Films finalist, Reading Rainbow feature book, Chicago Library Best of the Best, many Scholastic Book Fair selections, Florida Book Award, Parent's Choice Award, many Junior Library Guild selections, and Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association.
Loreen has spoken at hundreds of schools and many conferences such as the International Reading Association, the American Library Association, the Mazza Summer Conference, and the UVU Engaged Reading Forum.
She lives in central Florida with her husband Andy, who is a scientist and a cat named Knickers who has an easily triggered purrometer. They love to travel, read, and watch movies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
June 6, 2011
Measuring Penny is an amazing book and should be added to any classroom! This book is very relatable for any child who owns or has been around someone's pet. This book covers various types of measurement from time, to money, graphing, standard and non-standard forms of measurement and even map-making skills! In a first grade classroom I would use follow-up activities such as measuring how long stuffed animals were, using comparing words by perhaps sorting pictures of different dog breed (ex: A Pug is smaller than a Pittbull, but larger than a Chihuahua). I would also have them compare items in the classroom to their body parts and use that as a standard of measurement similar to the book and how high the dogs could jump (waist, over head, shoulder, et). They could look at how tall the chair, tables, computer, posters, etc. were.
November 17, 2025
This was a fun and engaging approach to looking at all the different ways we can measure the world around us, by following a little girl while she measures her puppy. Standard and non-standard measurements are used in an easy to understand, visual and non-intimidating way.
August 25, 2017
I thought this book was fun and I read it to my students after we had started our measurement unit. I had to share with the class that the units used were not useful to us here in New Zealand but it shared the fun idea of using different non standard units to start measuring. The students really loved it and it opened up their ideas of wanting to measure anything and everything.
January 29, 2011
I've used this/recommended this to teachers who attend teacher professional development workshops I teach on the topics of hand-on, interactive math education and integrating math with other content areas for several years, but this week was the first time I actually used the book with my own students. (I know. Shame on me.)
My students and I are just beginning a unit on measurement, and this book served as a good introduction to the truly vast range of concepts included in 'measurement.' My students automatically thought of measurement in terms of length, and the book helped bring to the forefront other forms of measurement, including volume, weight, time, and temperature. While the book's content is slightly too advanced for my four and five year olds, it used a character with whom they can easily relate to talk about an important math and science concept without being heavy-handed. I had to make a few modifications as we read (skipping some of the mathematical details) because with my students we're just working on the idea that measuring is a helpful way to gather information, but they aren't at a place where specifics like the number of inches in a foot or how many seconds in a hour matter. For our use, the focus on non-standard units of measurement and comparisons (more than, less than, and equal to) were much more developmentally appropriate.
Anytime you can read a non-fiction book for children that doesn't feel 'heavy' and TOO 'scientific,' you get a huge thumbs up from me. And Measuring Penny definitely meets that mark.
My students and I are just beginning a unit on measurement, and this book served as a good introduction to the truly vast range of concepts included in 'measurement.' My students automatically thought of measurement in terms of length, and the book helped bring to the forefront other forms of measurement, including volume, weight, time, and temperature. While the book's content is slightly too advanced for my four and five year olds, it used a character with whom they can easily relate to talk about an important math and science concept without being heavy-handed. I had to make a few modifications as we read (skipping some of the mathematical details) because with my students we're just working on the idea that measuring is a helpful way to gather information, but they aren't at a place where specifics like the number of inches in a foot or how many seconds in a hour matter. For our use, the focus on non-standard units of measurement and comparisons (more than, less than, and equal to) were much more developmentally appropriate.
Anytime you can read a non-fiction book for children that doesn't feel 'heavy' and TOO 'scientific,' you get a huge thumbs up from me. And Measuring Penny definitely meets that mark.
June 9, 2012
This is a fun story that shows how one little girl named Lisa completes her school assignment by measuring her dog Penny in many different ways, using standard and nonstandard units of measurement.
Lisa measures Penny (and a few other dogs) in different ways, then she shows how much she feeds Penny. Lisa depicts a typical day for Penny, and computes how long it takes Penny to get to different locations. Lisa also shows how temperature affects Penny and how long they walk. Finally, Lisa shows how much money her family spends to care for her dog.
In all, Lisa shows creative ways to complete her assignment while having fun with her dog. We enjoyed reading this book together and I like how it reinforced the concepts our girls have been learning in school. I can see how this would be a very useful book to use in conjunction with a classroom lesson. As a story, though, it was good, but not great.
Lisa measures Penny (and a few other dogs) in different ways, then she shows how much she feeds Penny. Lisa depicts a typical day for Penny, and computes how long it takes Penny to get to different locations. Lisa also shows how temperature affects Penny and how long they walk. Finally, Lisa shows how much money her family spends to care for her dog.
In all, Lisa shows creative ways to complete her assignment while having fun with her dog. We enjoyed reading this book together and I like how it reinforced the concepts our girls have been learning in school. I can see how this would be a very useful book to use in conjunction with a classroom lesson. As a story, though, it was good, but not great.
April 19, 2012
This is a fun book for students to read that helps them learn about both standard and nonstandard measurement. In the story, a little girl is given a homework assignment to measure things. She decides to measure her dog. The little girl measures things with both a regular ruler and other nonconventional items such as Q-tips, dog treats, and other things that can be found around the house. You could use this to do an activity with your students by bringing in some of these items and asking them to go around the room and measure things with them. For example how many dog biscuits long is the SmartBoard? Or how many Q-tips does it take to get from one side of the room to the other? Students will have lots of fun with these activities and be learning about different types of measurement as well.
April 12, 2011
This is a great book to use to teach measurement! I read this to my 1st grade class and they loved it. It is about a girl named Penny who receives this homework assignment that is to measure something in several different ways. Penny uses both standard units (inches, feet, etc.) and non-standard units (dog biscuits, paper clips, etc.) to measure her dog penny. She also finds the weight. This is a GREAT book to introduce measurement and start off with the non-standard measurements first. You could even have a stuffed animal dog and the non-standard and standard manipulatives to measure such as rulers, scales, paper clips, dog busicuits, and the children could record their measurements.
June 1, 2011
Math skills and units of measurement are introduced in Measuring Penny, a nicely-illustrated picture book. Whether she’s measuring Penny’s ears or how high her canine pals at the dog park can jump, Lisa, the little girl in the story obviously loves dogs and spends a lot of quality time with her pet.
Unfortunately, the last section has Lisa adding up the costs of caring for a dog, and we discover that she purchased Penny for $275.00. I’d much rather Lisa’s family had adopted Penny; the author misses the opportunity to impart another lesson—the number of wonderful dogs available at shelters and rescue groups.
Unfortunately, the last section has Lisa adding up the costs of caring for a dog, and we discover that she purchased Penny for $275.00. I’d much rather Lisa’s family had adopted Penny; the author misses the opportunity to impart another lesson—the number of wonderful dogs available at shelters and rescue groups.
July 14, 2011
In this book a little girl measures her dog and others for a homework assignment on measuring. The book introduces standard and non standard units of measurement. The standard units introduced include inches, feet, centimeters, pounds, cups, degrees, seconds, minutes, dollars, and more. The non standard units include dog biscuits, cotton swabs, and even the girl. The book lists each of the measurements and shows how to add them up. It also compares the measurements of several different dogs to show the comparison. Overall this was a great book on measuring as it introduced many different ways to measure a simple object, such as a dog.
January 21, 2015
A wonderful learning story about measurement that is clear and educational while being humorous and entertaining. It's not just traditional units of measurement that are used, but other things like dog bones. One dog's tale is five dog bones long. The fact that dogs are on every page and the subject of most measurements, is only a plus.
April 11, 2011
This is a great book to use for a lesson in measurement. Students will be more involved in a book about measuring than reading a textbook! An idea while reading the book is to measure things around the classroom.
March 22, 2022
I think this book will be awesome in a classroom to show children all different kinds of standard and non-standard units of measurement as well as define what that means. I would like to use it as a way to introduce ideas and creativity into their own measurement project as well as vocabulary. For this book, I would recommend first through third grade as it gives a good amount of detail that could be differentiated for use in any of these classes depending on the lesson prepared. I would say that it could be a great recommendation for teachers in these age groups and I would highly recommend it during a measuring unit. I would like to expand on the multiple different ways that the girl expanded her own project to include things like money, time, and weight, not just height or length. For this book, I would talk about how we can measure things in mathematical terms and translate that into importance in science. For example, since we know two dogs are more equal in weight and height would it make those dogs better or worse to compare in science. For this book, I would use it as a hook to create our own measurement project. I would want students to pick something like Penny inside of the classroom and we would find different ways of measurement to include in our math journals. I would want them to gather the information over many lessons to create a presentation about measuring.
May 5, 2020
Measuring Penny
This book is great for introducing kids to measurement concepts such as: height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. The main character, Lisa, is tasked with choosing something to measure for a homework assignment. She decides to measure her dog, Penny, and discovers that her tail is "one dog biscuit long". Lisa also works with standard measuring units like inches and centimetres and uses comparison terms like, "bigger than" and "smaller than". The story is fun, cute, and relatable for any kid who has or loves dogs. Measuring Penny would be a perfect introduction to a measurement activity in the classroom.
This book is great for introducing kids to measurement concepts such as: height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. The main character, Lisa, is tasked with choosing something to measure for a homework assignment. She decides to measure her dog, Penny, and discovers that her tail is "one dog biscuit long". Lisa also works with standard measuring units like inches and centimetres and uses comparison terms like, "bigger than" and "smaller than". The story is fun, cute, and relatable for any kid who has or loves dogs. Measuring Penny would be a perfect introduction to a measurement activity in the classroom.
June 19, 2018
This book captures the essence of a child's joy at discovering how many ways there are to measure things. There are the standard ways, using widely accepted units like kilograms, feet, or miles. Then there are the things only a creative kid, inspired by a creative teacher, would think up. This book will encourage kids to explore and measure their worlds.
Once again, National Braille Press has produced a beautiful print/Braille edition that captured the interest of the artistic folks in my office. And no, I don't work in an elementary school! The highest praise is when an adult gets lost in a book meant for kids, and I was lucky to witness that today.
Once again, National Braille Press has produced a beautiful print/Braille edition that captured the interest of the artistic folks in my office. And no, I don't work in an elementary school! The highest praise is when an adult gets lost in a book meant for kids, and I was lucky to witness that today.
October 20, 2020
I got this book for the measurement unit for kindergarten homeschool. As I read, I repeatedly noticed my children with broad smiles because puppies are just enticing. My kids were motivated to extend the discussion and talk about the measurements of our own dog and the dogs we know. The book goes beyond just standard measures and covers standard vs. nonstandard measurements, weights, volumetric measurements, temperature, time, and money. I see myself returning to individual pages as we explore each of these concepts in more depth. I recommend this as a supplement to any preschool or early elementary measurement unit.
August 14, 2022
In this adorable picture book, Lisa has a homework assignment to measure something in as many ways as she can. This book combines dogs and math in a way that makes it accessible for children. Lisa measures different things about her dog Penny. This book uses standard and nonstandard units of measure (like inches and dog biscuits) and also goes over time, volume, and comparative language. This is a great book to help introduce students to measurement.
In the classroom, it can be read before any measurement unit and help lead a class activity of exploring the different ways to measure.
In the classroom, it can be read before any measurement unit and help lead a class activity of exploring the different ways to measure.
July 6, 2017
This math information picturebook shows the fun and uniqueness of measuring through Lisa's math assignment to measure her dog in different ways through standard and nonstandard units. The illustrator used acrylics on Arches watercolor paper to help give a detailed and cartoon like image to the people and dogs while adding important facts in the illustrations to supplement the text. The illustrator also created diversity in the students, teachers, and dogs throughout the story.
July 10, 2017
Lisa takes her homework of measuring an item in standard and nonstandard units to the dogs. She decides to walk her adorable Boston terrier Penny to the dog park and tries out fun ways to use a variety of units in her attempts to measure the pack Penny plays with. The endearing images of the dogs will draw in students to the concept covered in this mathematical children's story.
Genre: Picture book, informational math
Genre: Picture book, informational math
May 25, 2017
From a NZ perspective it's disappointing that the default measurements are inches, feet and fahrenheit, gallons, quarts and pints. However, there is a mention of centimeters and Penny measures using nonstandard units like dog biscuits, cotton swabs and herself. I think it is a fun book would inspire children to start measuring everything they see in new and creative ways.
March 19, 2019
Countdown to Kindergarten: Measurement
This book about measuring dogs was pretty cool as it included both standard and non-standard measurement. While I liked it, it had way more information than I need and more information than my group could handle. I might use this in the future with older kids.
This book about measuring dogs was pretty cool as it included both standard and non-standard measurement. While I liked it, it had way more information than I need and more information than my group could handle. I might use this in the future with older kids.
May 13, 2022
Love all the different measurements here. Different parts of dogs in various standard and non-standard units, relative and absolute weight, looking at time and money (which would be easy to forget in this kind of book!).
The only questionable measurement here is the height one. The heights measured for all the dogs are definitely not comparable.
The only questionable measurement here is the height one. The heights measured for all the dogs are definitely not comparable.
May 11, 2018
Excellent book on measurement and on variety of ways an object (a dog) can be observed and (yes!) measured, using various standard and non-standard units. The story is entertaining, the illustrations are colorful, and on the point. Highly recommend!
August 8, 2019
Lisa decides for her “measurement project” to measure Penny, her dog. She uses some unusual units (dog biscuits, herself, cotton swabs.) She also measures Penny’s speed, how much time she spends taking care of Penny, Penny’s worth vs her expense.
Very cute.
Very cute.
November 6, 2020
This is such a phenomenal book that teaches kids how to understand the difference of standard and non-standard units of measurement in such a creative way. I'm so happy that I stumbled upon it and that this was my kids' first introduction to units of measurement.
March 8, 2021
I loved this book. Cute illustrations and such a great concept. I wish it wasn’t American so the measurements weren’t in inches and Fahrenheit, otherwise I would definitely buy it for our school library!
May 9, 2017
Great book for talking about measurement! Standard and non-standard units discussed along with length, volume, and time.
April 2, 2018
I really enjoyed this book when I first read it. It includes many valuable math skills, like measuring and being able to guess and check. I think this book would be a great opener for a math lesson.
March 23, 2020
Great book to explain measurements.
November 3, 2020
A great resource for all units of measurement with examples. I love the illustrations that go with it. It is a really cute book for kids from gr.1 - gr.3 I think.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews