Penny and Her Doll

Penny #1

by Kevin Henkes

Penny loves her new doll. The doll is absolutely perfect, from her head to her toes. But Penny's doll needs a name. What should Penny call her?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Animals, Fiction, Chapter Books, 1st Grade

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2012

About the author

Kevin Henkes is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. As an illustrator he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of his books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean in 2004 and The Year of Billy Miller in 2014. His picture book Waiting was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book. It was only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.

Reviews

[Jacoba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes (2012)
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Format: Book
Plot summary: Penny recieves and new doll and has trouble finding the perfect name for her.
Considerations or precautions for readers advisory (strong language, sex, death, religious overtones, violence, etc.): No special considerations
Review citation (if available): Cooper, Ilene. Booklist , 9/1/2012, Vol. 109 Issue 1, p130-131
Section source used to find the material: Children's Core Collection, ALA Notable Book 2013
Recommended age: Pre-K -2nd grade.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an early reader, this book presents a basic problem and solution structure. The middle part where everyone is offering their own names for the doll reminded me of Beskow's Rumpelstiltskin. Henkes' mice are cute, and he is in full control of this franchised style. White space breaks up small passages of text within small chapters to make it more approachable for a young reader.

More animals that don't use any animal traits.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute chapter book about Penny the mouse who can't think of a name for her new doll.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet and charming. This reminds me of my oldest niece whose beloved doll took a long time to settle on a name. One of her previous names was similar to the name Penny chooses for her doll!

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this story with Julianna. It was a longer book but short and sweet story. Julianna gives it 3 stars but I would give it a 4.. 😊

[Amy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin Henkes you SWEET, SWEET MAN. Thank you for this perfect book. Just what Lia's heart needed.

[Mattison Bingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny and Her Doll begins in the setting of a garden. Mama and Penny are in the garden smelling roses and pulling weeds when the mailman delivers a package. The package is for Penny from her Grandma. When she opens the package, there is a sweet note and a gift wrapped in pretty paper. The note was to explain that Grandma was at the store and thought of Penny when she saw this doll. When Penny unwrapped the pretty paper, there was a doll that she loved dearly. She showed everyone her new toy and took it everywhere. However, Papa asks what she named the doll and Penny was shocked that she forgot to give her a name. She then thought and thought of a name until she became frustrated. Penny went outside and began to smell the roses, just then she realized something! The dolls name should be Rose because she was smelling roses when the mailman delivered her.

This book is great for younger students who struggle with reading and aren't quite reading lengthy chapter books. The Author, Kevin Henkes, writes many children's book with Penny included in them. He does a great job repeating the characters expressions throughout all of the books. The pictures are filled with vibrant color. This creates contrast against the bright colors and the dull gray color of the mice characters. Overall, the pictures add meaning to the story. They let the readers visualize what is happening in the story, which is especially important if students are unable to read some of the words in the text.

[Emily Costella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is really cute. It is about a young mouse named Penny who receives a doll from her grandmother. She knows it is perfect in every way but does not know what she should name her. Throughout the day, Penny cannot function until she picks out her name for her new doll that she loves very much. She finally picks the perfect name for her doll, Rose, and everyone is happy to continue with their day.
Overall, this is a very good story for young readers to have around in their house or in the classroom. The format of thee book has it laid out into chapters, making it seem like the child is doing a lot more reading than they truly are. They can also break the book into sections easier this way making it easy for them to take breaks when they are having a hard time staying focused. The pictures are very detailed and follow the story in a fun fashion, often having multiple colorful pictures on one page. Another reason it would be smart to keep in the classroom is when I begin teaching a basic story plot. We can easily see the conflict and solution in this story, so it would be a good read aloud and then group activity on the carpet. If we did not do a group project with it, it could be a good book to give as a "project" to assess if students understand the basic plot line. Overall, this book is very cute and can be used in the classroom in many ways.

[Kaiti Pannell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penny and Her Doll is about Penny getting a doll from her grandma. the story starts out with Penny and her mom gardening in the garden. Her mom is pulling weeds and Penny is smelling the flowers. Penny is having a hard time trying to name her doll but once she brings her doll out to the garden after showing her the rest of the house, she comes up with the perfect name, Rose. There are many different activities I could have the students do with this book. One that comes up to mind is having the students write about a time they names a toy or pet. or they can ask their parents how they came up with your name and write about if your name has a meaning. If we have read more of Penny books they can do a prediction chart before they read the book

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a follow-up to Penny and Her Song. A fun early reader and I think this second one might even be better than the first one.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet

11/16/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.
11/21/17 Read with Naomi & Julia
6/13/18 Read with Julia & Simon
1/30/20 Read with Julia
9/9/25 Read with Charlotte

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a chapter book for easy readers. It's also a kind of love story, between Penny and her perfect new doll, sent her as a gift from Gram, her grandmother.

What will Penny name this wonderful doll?

This being a book for preschoolers or kindergarten kids, of course it takes the entire book for Penny to start to learn about how to name... anyone or anything.

Yes, there's a happy ending. Part of the simple slice-of-life so well captured by this book.

Remember when you were three and it could become such an adventure -- and take such a long time -- to eat one single cookie?

This book is totally right-sized and sweet. FIVE STARS to Kevin as author and illustrator.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cute mouse story from Kevin Henkes. Penny gets a doll from her grandmother and really love her, but she can’t think of a good name for her. Everyone in her family has names, even her baby brother and sister. Papa and Mama try to help, but Penny thinks their names for her doll are not quite right. Will she ever find a name for her beautiful new doll?

Henkes always seems to take the small moments of children’s lives and put them into focus. We understand how much Penny needs a name for her doll and how much this small thing really means in her young life. Serious fun for everyone!

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Days 86 and 87

[Cristina Quintero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully-written chapter book makes an excellent choice for beginning readers. Young readers can use charming illustrations on the pages of the book and the repetitive phrases of the story to help them decode the text or predict the story. This book can be used to introduce young readers to chapter books and to reinforce the reading skills of more independent readers. It is also a good book to read to children to help them understand the importance of names. I would definitely use this book at the beginning of the year, when all my young students are learning each other's names.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great early reader for kindergarten and first graders. There are small blocks of text, plenty of white space, and pictures to break up the text blocks. There are also many vocabulary and compound words within, which could skew for a little bit older/more confident beginning reader. However, the content skews a bit younger and would be fitting for a true beginning reader to begin learning to read. The story is also cute and probably very relatable to many children ages 5-7.

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henkes writes little girl characters really well. Penny's behavior toward her new doll is perfect and I love the way the text repeats key phrases from mom and dad. I wish that Penny's doll was the same color as her family. I know I may be hyper-sensitive, but some little girls have trouble finding dolls that represent their own colors and cultures.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penny is given a new doll and it needs a new name. I love that gardening is part of the story. Gardening is good for the soul.

A fun chapter book for young kids learning to read.

The artwork is watercolor and black pen. The artwork is cute and cuddly.

If you like dolls, this will be a great book for your kid.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this for nostalgia and will love it for always. I would expect nothing less from Kevin Henkes. This is a sweet story about how we name the things we love. Henkes does a wonderful job of showing how sometimes we just need to have a little faith and stop trying so hard.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute but I didn’t like it as much as the other two Penny books I read (although it was nice to find out the babies’ names).
Penny gets a doll from her grandma and struggles to give the doll a name. It’s a little bit predictable but I think beginning readers will like it.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny and Her Doll: Very cute! Henkes' illustrations are charming as always, and the plot of naming a new toy is fun and kid-friendly. Not the most gorgeous prose--more of an easy-reader level for a young kid to read than something an adult would read to a kid--but sweet.

[Rini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet early reader. Penny has a cute family and interacts with her grandparents and baby siblings and parents well. They have fun together doing activities, singing, gardening etc. Really liked all 4 books and wish there were more. The art work is adorable.

[Emelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Jack and Julia.

[Orit · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was great until the last page where the mother character tells her daughter 'now you don't have to think so hard' and Penny carefully thinks about a meaningful name to give her doll.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly cute book about a mouse getting a new doll and thinking up a name. Read it to non-native English speakers at church.

[Anne Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked Gigi and Buppy to you. Now I like it but not so much, only to infinity.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The triplets loved guessing correctly what Penny ended up naming her doll. Very engaging for them.

[Jessica S · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3 and 4 year old enjoy listening to these books. While they are beginning reader books, they don't feel babyish and have solid language. Easy to follow stories, but not oversimplified.

[Eryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated by my daughter

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penny loves her new doll. The doll is absolutely perfect, from her head to her toes. But Penny's doll needs a name. What should Penny call her?

[Robin Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute