Overview
A delightful companion to Measuring Penny
Lisa’s class is learning about probability. For part of her homework, she has to think of an event that will happen, one that might happen, and one that can’t happen. Who is that Boston terrier that keeps popping into Lisa’s imagination? It’s probably Penny!
Loreen Leedy is widely praised for her ability to make concepts fun and accessible to children, and she has done it again in this great introduction to probability.
It's Probably Penny is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Synopsis
A delightful companion to Measuring Penny
Lisa's class is learning about probability. For part of her homework, she has to think of an event that will happen, one that might happen, and one that can't happen. Who is that Boston terrier that keeps popping into Lisa's imagination? It's probably Penny!
Loreen Leedy is widely praised for her ability to make concepts fun and accessible to children, and she has done it again in this great introduction to probability.
Children's Literature
Leedy again uses Lisa and her dog Penny to dramatically and entertainingly introduce a concept. This time, it is probability, beginning with a class prediction of what their teacher, Mr. Jayson, will wear that day. To their surprise, he is wearing a silly hat, to show them what is possible if not probable. He then takes the class through a series of humorous operations with jellybeans to demonstrate the concepts of certainty, possibility, and probability. Eating the jellybeans sweetens the homework on probability. We follow along with Lisa that weekend as she does the required predictions of events that might or might not happen. Humor enlivens her actions as she carefully does the homework, with Penny probably, but not always, the answer to this clear and interesting introduction to probability. The characters are flatly painted but lively, especially Penny. Pages are designed to display objects in appealing ways, in a manner that does not confuse the point of the lesson. Leedy makes what might be a boring approach to a basic bit of knowledge into an attractive mini-narrative.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Leedy scores again with this engaging mathematical tale."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Librarians will most certainly want this follow-up to Measuring Penny and Mapping Penny's World, which are probably in circulation at this very moment."
—School Library Journal
Children's Literature -
Leedy again uses Lisa and her dog Penny to dramatically and entertainingly introduce a concept. This time, it is probability, beginning with a class prediction of what their teacher, Mr. Jayson, will wear that day. To their surprise, he is wearing a silly hat, to show them what is possible if not probable. He then takes the class through a series of humorous operations with jellybeans to demonstrate the concepts of certainty, possibility, and probability. Eating the jellybeans sweetens the homework on probability. We follow along with Lisa that weekend as she does the required predictions of events that might or might not happen. Humor enlivens her actions as she carefully does the homework, with Penny probably, but not always, the answer to this clear and interesting introduction to probability. The characters are flatly painted but lively, especially Penny. Pages are designed to display objects in appealing ways, in a manner that does not confuse the point of the lesson. Leedy makes what might be a boring approach to a basic bit of knowledge into an attractive mini-narrative.School Library Journal
Gr 1-4
Lisa's class is studying probability. For homework, she must make predictions about what will, might, and can't happen over the weekend. She must also think of different events with varying chances of happening. Penny, her Boston terrier, helps Lisa visualize the situations needed for the assignment. Leedy's uncluttered, computer-generated artwork matches her clear and orderly text. What Lisa imagines-Penny eating a birthday cake, discovering buried treasure, and inventing a jet pack-appears in thought bubbles with scalloped edges. Penny stands out against the textured pastel backgrounds, and her brown eyes are like marbles. Actual photographs, such as of clothes in a laundry basket where the pet discovers a missing toy and of the vegetables they buy at the farmer's market, are used sparingly and heighten the reality of events that do happen. Readers will remember what they have learned about probability because they have seen a charming Boston terrier in both probable and improbable situations. Librarians will most certainly want this follow-up to Measuring Penny (1998) and Mapping Penny's World (2000, both Holt), which are probably in circulation at this very moment.
—Mary Jean SmithCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.