Penny and Her Marble
Kevin Henkes
ISBN: 9780062082039
Read February 3, 2014
Small-format picture book
Penny is a mouse (as are most of Henkes' characters) and she fights a great moral battle here, and comes off victorious in the end. While taking a walk, Penny happens upon a marble in the grassy verge of the sidewalk, in front of a neighbor's house. Penny covets the marble, and takes it. Afterwards, she suffers very noticeable pangs of guilt about having done so, culminating in a set of nightmares. In the morning, Penny (without intervention or advice from any adults or other characters at all, which I LOVE) heads back to her neighbor's yard to return the marble to whence it came. At this point, reality and picture book plots diverge, as the neighbor informs Penny that she had placed the marble there for someone to find, and Penny gets to keep the marble with a clear conscience. Adorable, and with a nice gently delivered message, as are all of Henkes' stories.
A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Mo Willems
ISBN: 9781423174912
Read February 3, 2014
An observant or devious reader will notice the catch slipping right on by at the beginning, but Piggy has a problem because a BIG GUY came and took "his" ball. Elephant is ready to leap to the rescue, until he realizes just HOW BIG this guy really is. Their avenging fury is averted when the big guy sweetly thanks Piggy for finding his ball for him, and all is well again. This one is not nearly as epic as Should I Share My Ice Cream (which should be required reading for everyone ever) but it's worth it to see Elephant (normally so unflappable) waxing dramatic about the size differential between him and the big guy in question.
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