Tacky the Penguin
By Helen Lester
Grades: K-2
Genre: Fantasy

 

Have you ever felt like you were different? Like you just didn’t belong?  Well Tacky was not your typical penguin.  Tacky was an odd penguin, who did odd things.  Read the story to find out how this strange bird saved all his friends.

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester is about a penguin who put a twist on everything he did.  Tacky lived with his companions Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect.  Tacky wore a Hawaiian button up shirt, while his companions wore elegant bow ties.  Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect were graceful, quiet, and polite.  Tacky was not!  He sang off-key to his own bizarre songs, made huge cannonballs, and tripped over his own feet.  Tacky did not fit in with the other pretty penguins who made beautiful music and marched in straight lines.  One day the penguins heard the thump thump thump of hunters.  While Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect ran away and hid behind an iceberg, Tacky was left standing alone to face the hunters.  Tacky greeted them with a hard slap on the back.  He performed his not-so-graceful marching, did his splashy cannonball, and sang his dreadful song.  All his companions joined in with the singing, and the horrible noise drove the hunters away.  With their hands over their ears, the hunters dropped their maps, and traps, and locks, and rocks and were never seen again.  The pretty penguins realized how lucky  really were to have such a strange friend.

 The illustrations in this book tell the whole story.  From the first page, it is clear that Tacky does not fit in with the pretty penguins.  The illustrations vividly depict Tacky’s loud and somewhat obnoxious behavior.  The pictures have so much detail and the illustrator really captures the facial expressions and gestures of Tacky and the pretty penguins perfectly.  The colorful and lively pictures attract children to this book immediately.  The illustrations will engage children as well as make them laugh. 

 Tacky the Penguin is a great book to have in a classroom library. This is a silly book that a lot of children can relate to. This was one of my favorites growing up and is an easy and enjoyable read that will never get old.  This book has a message that a lot of children can connect with, especially at the Preschool through 2nd grade age.  Accepting others and being yourself are important lessons delivered in this story.  Tacky the Penguin would make a great read-aloud book.  In this story, there is a silly element as well as a contrasting scarier part, and finally a happy ending, all combined to make a well-rounded book with an exciting plot. The story can be used to show children that even animals are different from one another, that being different is a good thing, and that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses.  Teaching children to be themselves and that they don’t need to change is one of the most important lessons. By hearing this story children can feel safe knowing that it is okay to be strange or different and that they are not alone.