Pistes d'exploration

Measure the height of everyone in class. Organize the information on a chart similar to the one found in the envelope.

Brainstorm a list of other interesting questions related to science (e.g. How wide is the ocean?). Research the answers.

Have you ever gone away without your parents? Where did you go? How far away were your parents? How did you feel? Share your experience with the class.

Survey the number of children who have been on a Ferris wheel, on a roller coaster, in a hot air balloon or on a plane. Discuss the different sensations that were experienced.

In teams, practise reading the story in a Reader’s Theatre style.

Discuss ways of going up into the sky. Collect illustrations for these types of transportation and mount them on a bulletin board in a way that shows how comparatively high they go.

Think of a deep question that you ask yourself and write it at the top of a large sheet of paper. Post it on the wall. Walk around and try to answer each other’s questions. 

Research a question of your own, using non-fiction resource material.

Use the book as a model to create a story about your question, your researched answers and your classmates’ answers (see previous activities).

Penguins

Mots-clés

Adventure , Picture book , curiosity , illustrations (watercolours) , penguins , questions , sky

Commentaire descriptif

A curious little penguin is always asking very big questions, like “Why are snowflakes cold?” One day, Pipkin’s biggest question of all—how high is the sky?—takes him on an exciting journey into outer space where he finally realizes that it is not so much the number that matters (“The sky goes on forever,” he tells his mother later that night before bed), but how far away he is from those who love him. Recurring dialogue (“I’ll take you if you like”), uttered by each of Pipkin’s helpful friends who offer him a ride along the way, facilitates reading for beginners and offers read-aloud audiences an element of predictability. A playful chalkboard-style font and gentle kid-friendly illustrations depict Pipkin catching a ride with an albatross, a hot-air balloonist and an astronaut as he puzzles over his looming question. The sky is prominent in all spreads, gradually darkening as the narrative progresses, from pale blue to the pitch black of outer space, until the final, luminous one with Pipkin snuggled into his warm bed. A five-foot tall poster at the back of the book features the real-life heights of various sky-related objects (hot air balloons, clouds, satellites, etc.) along with some fun facts.