Henkes so completely understands the minds of small children. He so charmingly depicts them as mice. His vivacious panels always seem to burst with springtime.

Henkes ups the emotional stakes in his third book starring Penny, in which guilt hangs heavily over the young mouse. Penny is instantly smitten with the blue marble she discovers on a neighbor’s lawn, and she sneaks it into her pocket. Her backward-glancing eyes as she runs home clue readers in that she’s ambivalent about her decision, something she considers for the next few chapters. Henkes crystallizes the way guilt worms its way into the mind of someone who suspects she’s in the wrong, while putting his heroine at ease in the final pages. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Perfect for beginning readers. A treasure.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Henkes continues to plumb the emotional world of childhood as few author/illustrators can. . . . Another gem.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Impeccable. . . . Respect for the beginning reader’s emerging skills beautifully matches Henkes’s respect for Penny .” — Horn Book (starred review)

“Splendid . . . Henkes so completely understands the minds of small children. . . . His vivacious panels always seem to burst with springtime. It’s hard to imagine anything ever going too wrong in one of his sensitive, generous portrayals. Everything here ends just right.” — New York Times Book Review

“Henkes ups the emotional stakes in his third book starring Penny.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Henkes conveys shades of emotions that are common to human experience, yet hard to express in words. It’s particularly impressive that he can do so in a book for beginning readers. . . . This small-scale, yet immensely satisfying drama is a fine addition to the Penny series.” — Booklist (starred review)

Praise for Penny and Her Song: “Henkes strikes all the right notes. . . . Language, art, characterization, and plot are all executed, like Penny’s song, beautifully.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“The text . . . is perfect for new readers, and Henkes’s familiar artwork has its share of warm moments. This early reader captures the way families make memories at unexpected moments. Welcome Penny to the cast.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Much as he did in Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Henkes presents an irrepressible heroine who struggles to compromise.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Carefully sequenced panels, expressive lines and gentle pastels lead the reader to the story’s joyous resolution.” — Washington Post

Splendid . . . Henkes so completely understands the minds of small children. . . . His vivacious panels always seem to burst with springtime. It’s hard to imagine anything ever going too wrong in one of his sensitive, generous portrayals. Everything here ends just right.

Carefully sequenced panels, expressive lines and gentle pastels lead the reader to the story’s joyous resolution.

Impeccable. . . . Respect for the beginning reader’s emerging skills beautifully matches Henkes’s respect for Penny .

Henkes conveys shades of emotions that are common to human experience, yet hard to express in words. It’s particularly impressive that he can do so in a book for beginning readers. . . . This small-scale, yet immensely satisfying drama is a fine addition to the Penny series.

Carefully sequenced panels, expressive lines and gentle pastels lead the reader to the story’s joyous resolution.

"The text . . . is perfect for new readers, and Henkes’s familiar artwork has its share of warm moments. This early reader captures the way families make memories at unexpected moments. Welcome Penny to the cast."

"Impeccable. . . . Respect for the beginning reader’s emerging skills beautifully matches Henkes’s respect for Penny ."

PreS-Gr 2—In the latest installment in the series, the young mouse is pushing her doll's stroller down the block when she spies a marble on her neighbor's lawn. After furtively looking around, Penny drops it in her pocket and races home. At first she delights in her new treasure, enjoying how smooth it feels between her fingers and how fast it rolls across the floor, but then she is overcome with guilt for taking something that doesn't belong to her. Henkes's nuanced watercolor and ink illustrations capture the shame-filled mouse hiding behind curtains. As she continues to worry, she loses her appetite: "The oranges in the bowl looked like big orange marbles. The peas on her plate looked like little green marbles." After a dream-filled night, Penny decides to put the marble back where she found it. When confronted by Mrs. Goodwin, Penny's "cheeks were hot. She could not speak," but her kind neighbor reassures her that she put the marble on the grass hoping someone would pick it up. Readers will empathize with Penny and her conflicted emotions. The short sentences with plenty of repetition and superb pacing make this title perfect for beginning readers. A treasure.—Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Whose marble is it? In this third early reader about a little anthropomorphic mouse named Penny, Henkes continues to plumb the emotional world of childhood as few author/illustrators can. The story begins with Penny taking a walk and pushing her beloved doll, Rose, in a stroller. She heeds Mama's admonition that she "[o]nly go as far as Mrs. Goodwin's house," and when she arrives there, she spies a shiny blue marble at the edge of the lawn. Though unsure whether she should do so, Penny pockets the glinting little orb and scurries home. Later, Penny's conscience bothers her, and the marble hidden in her drawer adopts a presence akin to Poe's telltale heart. She can't bring herself to tell her concerned parents what is bothering her, and after a fitful night's sleep, she goes for another walk to return the marble. Hoping to make a quick getaway after surreptitiously replacing it, Penny is worried when her neighbor approaches. Will Mrs. Goodwin be angry that she took the marble? As it turns out, Mrs. Goodwin purposefully put the marble on her lawn in the hope that someone would find it and take it home as a little treasure. Reassured, Penny thanks Mrs. Goodwin and walks home, imagining herself beside a sea as blue as her new marble. Henkes' characteristically meticulous vignettes both expand the story and provide picture clues to help new readers along. Another gem. (Early reader. 5-8)