Book Title: "Three Cheers for Tacky"
Author: Helen Lester
Illustrator: Lynn Munsinger
Publisher: Scholastic Inc., Copyright 1994
Number of pages: 32
Genre: Picture Book
A group of penguins that go by the names Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect all lived together on an iceberg. Then there was Tacky- a penguin that was not so normal compared to the other birds. Tacky was the "oddball." After school one day, the penguins found out that they were invited to compete in the Penguin Cheering Contest. Penguins from all over the iceberg would participate. Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Perfect, and Tacky all wanted the same big prize- the shiny blue bow ties. The team practiced and practiced until everyone got the cheer right; everyone except Tacky, that is. Tacky just could not keep up with the rest of the birds until one day...he finally got it right! The day of the competition arrived and team after team performed. No one could quite seem to entertain the judges, however. Our team of penguins goes last, but they are certainly not least. Tacky puts on quite a show for everyone when he stumbled and fell flat on his belly in the middle of the cheer. The crowd loved it. He ended up leading the crowd in not one, but three cheers in the Penguin Cheering Contest. There was no question to whether or not our little group of penguins got to take home the shiny blue bow ties.
Illustrator Lynn Munsinger did an excellent job with the images presented in this book. The illustrations are all vivid, colorful, and kid-friendly. She makes sure to include pictures for each event that occurs on each page. This is a great way to represent the story for your students who are not quite reading yet, and for your ELL's that are not fluent in English. The pictures also do a great job showing how Tacky stands out and is different from the other penguins. The reader is able to visualize how he struggles to fit in and be apart of the team. Munsinger also did well at varying where the illustrations were placed throughout the story. Some images are above the words, some are below the words, and some take up the entire page.
Grade Level: K
Content Area: Reading (Literature)
Standard: 1) Make predictions to determine main idea and anticipate an ending. [RL.K.1a]
I would read "Three Cheers for Tacky" as a read aloud. When I come to the part where Tacky stumbles and falls in the middle of their cheer at the competition, I would pause reading and pose a question to my students. This question might be, "Since Tacky fell and messed up the cheer, what do you think will happen? Do you think that they will win the competition and get to take home their shiny blue bow ties?" I could put them into small groups or do a 'Turn and Talk' with a partner to let them share their ideas. After letting them talk with each other, we could come back together as a whole class and let them share their ideas with everyone else.
I'm a sucker for any type of humor in a children's book, and judging by your descriptions it sounds like this book has got it! I loved that you provided opportunity for student collaboration in your content description. I think that that small detail will invoke genuine student learning. I, also, think that this book provides an awesome opportunity to approach diversity with a theme of "it's okay to be different" and "it's okay to mess up."
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