Penelope Perfect

Great title for helping kids to understand that life isn't perfect . . . and that is okay! Penelope is a lovable little gal who just tries to always do her best, but when the unexpected arrives, she discovers that it's just fine if things don't always turn out according to her plan. Perfectionism is often overlooked as a problem because perfectionists seem successful and productive--but all that achievement can come at a high price for the anxious child. This book would be a great one to share with kids who set the bar high and need help dealing with disappointments.

I really loved this book. The illustrations really add to the great story. Penelope was such a fun character and I loved seeing how she dealt with her day not going at all the way she wanted it to.
The discussion questions at the back make this book a great resource for parents and those who work with children. We may associate with kids who are like Penelope when things don't go just right in their day. We can help them learn how to deal with things like that by reading this book with them and utilizing the suggestions at the end. I plan to read more by this author and to look for more books with this illustrator.

This is a great book that will help both girls and parents. The new level of social media has placed even more pressure on that unattainable perfection. Penelope is my life in pictures. I will recommend to the girls that like pinkalicious and ladybug girl I hope the author has more adventures planned for Penelope

I love everything about the book. Written in rhyme, the storyline is engaging and the illustrations are full of detail, humour and perfectly enrich the author's narrative.

Penelope prides herself on being a perfectionist.

"They call me Penelope Perfect.
If you know me, I'm sure you agree.

Have you ever heard of Old Faithful?
Well, That geyser has nothin' on me!"

Everything she does whether it be waking up at 5 every morning (on the dot), cleaning her room (until it's spotless and shiny), exercising precisely from her exercise chart (10 jumping jacks please), or eating her heart-shaped pancakes that her mom makes her for breakfast every morning (yum!yum!), has to be regimented and incisively on time each day. Penelope is meticulous and precise in all her daily endeavours.

At school she is known for skipping recess to get her lessons rewritten properly and on the bus home she completes her assigned homework. Everything she does is done flawlessly and with determination, until one day there's a huge storm in the middle of the night in her neighbourhood and the power goes off causing her impeccable, controlled world to become unplugged.

Penelope's alarm does not go off and this throws her whole routine, her whole day, and must I add her whole LIFE into chaos and confusion. She has lost control and must go with the flow ... fluidly moving through her day ... powerless. Penelope learns some valuable life lessons because of this mishap: it is alright to play with the other kids at recess, it's o.k. to have wrinkled clothes and messy hair, it's fine to get a B+ on a test and it's great to leave time to play outside and goof off a bit....

"I've learned not to make life a checklist.
That doesn't mean I'm lazy.

It's all right to go with the flow sometimes,
And not make myself so crazy.!"

She learns not to worry so much, be happy and free, and enjoy just being herself...Penelope!

Penelope is a perfectionist. She sets her alarm for five every morning so she will have time to clean her room, do exactly 10 jumping jacks, eat heart-shaped pancakes, pack a lunch and feed her cat before she leaves for school. Her life is filled with routines that do not leave any room for fun.

One day, a storm knocks out the power at her house and her alarm doesn't go off. Because of this, Penelope and her parents oversleep. Penelope doesn't have time for all her routines; she shows up at school after the tardy bell rings in wrinkled clothing and her hair is an uncontrolled mess. Then the worst thing of all happens, she gets a "B". Because of these circumstances, Penelope is forced out of her careful routine, and instead of going back to it and living a life of all work and no play, she tries some new things.

This is a great book to show children that they need a balance in their life. A nice addition to the book is the short guide at the end to help parents and teachers work with their children on the things that can be learned from the story. I recommend this book.

Reading this e-ARC, I can't help but think this book should be read to every student about to take those terrible standardized test! Very year I watch as most student make themselves sick with worry and dread about the upcoming tests. They have there lists, for go play time worried they will fail and have to take the test again. This book helps you see that, although you should try your best, you shouldn't forget about playing and down time. Mark your calendars teachers, you need this book!

This was a great little book to help children realize that you don't have to be perfect all the time, and sometimes you can't help it! The rhyming and illustrations give it charm, a very good read for the little ones.

This is a delightful story that is not just for children who feel the pressure of doing well but for their parents as well. All children and adults need some time to unwind and play. There are effective notes at the end which help with lesson planning for any educator. I would recommend this book to my colleagues in primary education but also to my Further Education students who sometimes need to remember they are allowed to relax but studying is still important.

I requested this book because I have an 8-year-old who gets upset when things don't go perfectly. We read it together. She enjoyed the story and we had a nice chat about how we should just relax and enjoy life and not get so uptight. I teach high school, so it's not appropriate for my students, but I would definitely recommend it for ages up to about 10.

Penelope is a perfectionist. She wants everything to go just right. She plans out every second of her day. She gets up very early each day, has a specific breakfast, rewrites her notes during recess etc. She has not fun, no friends and does not know how to enjoy herself. One night the power goes off, so her alarm does not wake her in time. What is going to happen. To Penelope this is a catastrophe. She is late for school, her hair is wild and she has no time to make lunch. What is going to happen to her on this topsy turvy day? Fortunately, for Penelope's storybook character, by the end of her day and the end of the story she has realised that actually 'It's all right to go with the flow sometimes.' This book would be great to read with those students who are perfectionists and get upset whenever something does not go according to plan.

The story is written useing rhyme and humour to tell the story. The illustrations are bold, virant and colourful and support the humourous content of the story. A final entry to the book is a section "for caring parents" with activities to encourage discussions as well as a section from 'A Psychologist's Perspective'.

I loved the diversity in the illustrations! I know that this book shows it’s ok to not be perfect, but I also saw the message that your day depends on your attitude. Even though she thought it was going to be a bad day, she made the best of it and ended up having a good day. Some of the rhymes weren’t the best, but in general it was well-written.

s a bit of perfectionist myself, I understand how Penelope feels. When I was in elementary school, I often did extra credit work, even though I didn't need the extra points for my grade. I worried about my handwriting to the point that I pressed so hard on the pencil, it was impossible to erase mistakes. (My family bought me pencils with extra-hard lead so that I couldn't make such permanent marks on the paper.) Even in college, I made notes and outlined each chapter in the textbooks, completing the review questions even if they weren't assigned by the professor. Although I have lightened up a bit, I still remember how it feels to want everything to be perfect and to hate when things don't run smoothly.

Penelope is "Penelope Perfect" because she sticks to her careful routine, skips recess to make sure her assignments are perfect, and keeps to-do lists close at hand. But when there is a thunderstorm that knocks out the power, her alarm doesn't wake her at the normal time and her day if off to a horrible start. Can such a terrible day possibly have a good ending? When she rushes into class late, everyone stops and stares. And when she gets her first ever B on a paper, it seems like the end of the world. But maybe Penelope can learn something important from this disaster.

There are suggested activities and discussion ideas at the end of the book, along with a brief description of perfectionism from a psychologist's perspective. Parents and teachers who are trying to help a child deal with this issue will be grateful for the support of this story and the additional resources in the back matter.

This story is a perfect way to reach the youngsters in your life who are constantly worried about small details. This story is clear, there are not excessive amounts of words and will hold the attention of children at different ages, and the illustrations are colorful and welcoming.

I must admit the title, Penelope Perfect: A Tale of Perfectionism Gone Wild, had me enticed to read this children's book. Penelope is a student I have encountered every year I have taught in a classroom. There is always the one student who wants your help, your attention, and the ability to prove you wrong. There is always a student who knows more than you. There is always the student who wants to know why they got a 98% when it should have been a 100%. Penelope is this student. She knows everything. From the time she wakes up, to the time she goes to bed at night there is a plan and it always goes perfectly. There is no room for errors in her world--and she has little time or patience for those who are ignorant.....until the day everything goes wrong for Penelope.
This is a humbling tale of how being perfect can be a problem when circumstances happen beyond our control. Penelope struggles with change and disorder. She has to learn what it is like to not make an A, not to have her plans go as anticipated and most importantly, she learns likability is not based on perfection. The illustrations created in Penelope Perfect by Katie Kath show Penelope's world of optimism and perfection. It is a blissful, sunny day when everything is perfect; however, it is the same sunny disposition in the illustrations even when things go awry. Who wouldn't want a class of students who want to be perfect? However, the anxiety placed on children to perform beyond their scope is often times too much. Shannon Anderson has created a character much like the ones I meet every year in my classroom. The ones who want to be perfect, have high anxiety and are possibly even taking medications to help them cope with their deficits. There is information at the end of this rhyming tale to give guidance to parents and teachers who struggle with these students. This book is a wonderful tool to help other Penelope's in the world realize nothing in life is perfect or goes as planned.

In the Classroom:
This is a classroom book to read to your students in grades 1st through 4th grade. When students start understanding the concept of grades and the pressures placed upon them for state assessments, they need to know they are loved regardless of scores. Every school across our nation feels the "test anxiety" because we have created stress to everyone involved on scores. State funding is based on these scores. There has been discussion over the past few years teacher's salaries will be aligned with school scores. Penelope Perfect can teach both the student and the teacher we are okay and loved even when we are not perfect. As long as we try our best and give it all we have we are awesome! Take time to talk with your students about the beginning of the book where Penelope is SO perfect and discuss the outcome of her day. Talk about her feelings as well as what the children experienced as they were listening to the story. The ending allows a wonderful opportunity to let students understand it is okay to just be them! (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.)

Loved this book! The illustrations are vivid, attractive and to the point. Enjoyed the ethnicity of the characters and Penelope's dealing with perfectionism. Not so perfect Penelope is very satisfactory!