Perfectly Percy

by Paul Schmid

This is Percy. Percy loves balloons. Balloons are fun! But Percy has a small problem... and to solve it, he'll need a really BIG idea!!

Paul Schmid, the author and artist of Hugs From Pearl, presents a story about an adorably prickly character with a big heart. Percy shows that there is no problem too big for a plucky porcupine to solve!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Kids

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2013

About the author

Paul Schmid is an author and illustrator of children's picture books.
He lives on Whidbey Island in Washington State. You can visit him online at www.paulschmidstudio.com.

Reviews

[Audra Rowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly Percy is a sweet little book about Percy the Porcupine. There is only one thing that makes Percy truly happy . . . balloons! Obviously this creates quite the dilemma for Percy and he works really hard at looking for a solution. Just when he thinks he has thought all of his thoughts, he comes up with the perfect solution. The simple, light-hearted drawings are the perfect compliment to this story and are sure to put a smile on any reader’s face. It would make a great read aloud and a wonderful mentor text for modeling problem- solution with young readers.

[Lrhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Percy who takes his time to figure out a solution to a problem. It shows follow through and grit.

[Chance Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable picture book about a porcupine with a problem -- he loves balloons! He ponders his problem and eventually solves it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Percy is a porcupine who LOVES balloons, but as everyone knows porcupines and balloons just don't mix. Determined to find a solution, Percy thinks and thinks and finds that his cereal bowl also doubles as a helmet! Now a porcupine + a helmet + a balloon is a winning solution!

Illustrations were rendered in pencil on paper and then manipulated in Photoshop. I liked the soft color palette and the way that the artwork fills in extra details of the story. I was a little less thrilled with the solution as this concept is also covered in the book A Balloon for Isabel by Deborah Underwood and I prefer the way that author brings her story to conclusion.

Overall, good read aloud with a charming main character.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Percy is a cute, sweet and prickly porcupine. His favorite thing to do in the world is play with balloons and, as you can guess, this is a HUGE problem when you have your body covered by needles... Percy thought hard trying to find a solution, and when none came to him, he thought even harder. Despite the lack of an idea, he decided to think a little more. And just when he was about to give up, a bright solution finally came to him!

A lovely illustrated story about don't desist when a problem looks unsolvable. Even in the most hopeless of the situations, you can puzzle it out!

Age range: 2 to 6 years old.

Check out more children's book reviews in my Reviews in Chalk Blog!

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very pretty pastel book and just right for the youngest audience in logic learning. Percy is a porcupine that loves balloons and must figure out the best way to play with his favorite thing. It's cute and funny and got an easy smile out of my preschooler.

*Thanks to HC for providing an ARC for review.*

scheduled: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2...

[Christiane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Percy the porcupine has a problem. His favorite thing in the world is balloons. You can probably guess what the problem is: "But happy little porcupines with balloons are soon SAD little porcupines." This book is simple enough for story time, but still has a lot of depth and is all about perseverance and problem-solving. Plus, the illustrations are adorable! (Author/illustrator Paul Schmid is from Seattle.)

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute drawings but doesn't add up to much. The flap describes him as having a big heart, but the story isn't really about him helping other people or having great family relationships. Maybe he should have offered to help his sadly "too busy" mom instead of fixating on his balloons if it was supposed to be a "big heart" story. Or change the flap to emphasize his self- reliance instead of confusing the issue.

[Dee-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute story about a porcupine who loves balloons which causes him a dilemma.

[Jazz Feylynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never give up your dreams. Never stop thinking up solutions. Go with what makes you happy.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how this story illustrates problem solving failure after failure...and a main character that doesn't give up!

[Pi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ta książeczka opowiada o małym jeżozwierzu, który uwielbia balony. Balony są tym, co go uszczęśliwia i zachęca do zabawy. Lecz balony, jak to balony – pękają, a wtedy nasz mały jeżozwierz robi się smutny. Co można poradzić na ten smutek? Do kogo się zwrócić? Ta książka odpowie na te i inne pytania.
„Perfectly Percy” skierowana jest do maluchów. Mamy tu ilustracje na całą rozkładówkę, ale są to ilustracje minimalistyczne, gdzie przykładowo Percy zajmuje całą jedną stronę, druga jest wolna od wszelkich ilustracji, lub ma malusieńki elemencik plus zdanie, jedno lub parę, ale krótkich. Wygląda to bardzo estetycznie i jest zwyczajnie słodkie, bo nasz bohater naprawdę rozbraja urokiem, ale nie jest to coś wybitnego. To przyjemna opowieść, która skupia się na pokazaniu dziecku, że samo może wpaść na świetne pomysły, że samo może rozwiązywać swoje problemy. To książka o samodzielnym myśleniu i za to ją bardzo cienię.
Tak jak wspomniałam, ilustracje minimalistyczne, na tyle proste, że dziecko spokojnie może je odrysować na własnej kartce. Ogólnie wygląda to ładnie i jest przyjemne dla oka.

[Kalynne]

Date: 09.08.25
Attendees: 32
Theme: Balloons and Bubbles

Introduction and announcements: Shake my Silles out by Raffi (with shaker eggs)

Book one: The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

Song/rhyme/game one: 10 Little Bubbles

Book two: Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy

Song/rhyme/game two: Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

Book three: Perfectly Percy by Paul Schmid

Song/ rhyme/ game three: Balloon

Activity:https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ee/22/80/ee...

[Flossmoor Public Library (IL) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is picture book that will make your heart melt. It is about a young porcupine whose favorite thing in the world is balloons. As you can imagine, it is very difficult for Percy to enjoy his favorite toy. The book shows Percy’s thoughts as he tries to come up with a solution. It is a very sweet book!

Miss Emily

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a porcupine you have quills or spikes or needles. This porcupine likes balloons which makes for an unsafe situation! Allowing himself some "think time" Percy comes up with a remarkable solution to his problem. Love it! (In respect to clever solutions, this book reminds me of Sarah Weeks' ELLA, OF COURSE!)

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations more than the story, but I did find the ending to be sweet. All the porcupines are so cute, especially the little baby with its pacifier. That was just too cute! I found the illustrations to be simple, but adorable, and they all had a nice, pleasing to the eye, pastel color palette.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure that this is going to be a HUGE spoiler for you guys. Ha! Porcupines pop balloons because they are pointy. If you put a bowl on their head, their prickles won't pop the balloons. The end. Not an overly impressive story line, but enough to make a kid smile because it is funny.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be an excellent book for older kids to teach problem solving

[Anna DuBose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my. Adorable!

[Kasey Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Percy loves balloons but no matter what he does they keep popping. Although I wish there was more text, the illustrations and color scheme won me over.

[Titish A.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Landak hobinya maen balon, meletus mulu. Idenya lucu amat :3

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just kind of a blah story.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute story of a porcupine that loves balloons and has to think of a way that he can enjoy his balloon without it popping. I liked the theme of perseverance.

[Sharon Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book! I love books where my children need to figure out what’s going to work and problems solving.

[Gwen Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this one! Cute story about a porcupine who loves balloons. Perfect simple narrative for little ones.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Percy the porcupine tries to find a way to enjoy balloons without popping them. This book would make good read aloud for a lower elementary group.

[Aarvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Percy loves balloons, but Percy is a porcupine so problems arise. Cute book with nice story line and good illustrations. Recommend for ages 3-5.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this toddler and up book about a porcupine that loves balloons but they pop whenever he plays with them. Whatever will he do?

[Spike's Place · Rating 5 out of 5]

Click here to place a hold at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library