The Penguin Problem

Children's Literature - Erika Clark

The narrator is clear about the story's problem: "I have a problem. A really, really big problem. My class is doing a penny drive to raise money so we can adopt an endangered species of penguin. But I lost my penny collection." Mrs. Wushy's class is learning about how penguins eat, how they breathe through their gills like fish, and how the mom and dad take turns keeping an egg warm until it hatches. The first-graders conduct an experiment in order to learn about the importance of a penguin's blubber during long winter days. Freddie and his friends assimilate what they learned in the classroom when playing during their free time at recess. As they are pretending to walk stiffly like a penguin and forming a nest to lay their imaginary beaks, the students become more and more interested in learning how they can save the endangered species. This story clearly explains to young readers the concepts of cause and effect and the complications of pollution on Earth. Klein connects the dots between the sun, pollution, global warming, and the penguins' living conditions. This is an ideal selection to include in a lesson that requires students to use meta-cognition when reading and brainstorming ideas that can be tested and used in real-life situations. Students will come to understand the basic scientific method while reading about a main character who demonstrates investigation and critical thinking to devise a plan. The author also includes content appropriate activities, which can be useful for developing teaching points for future lesson plans. Reviewer: Erika Clark