Patience Featured Book

A Penguin Named Patience
by Suzanne Lewis, illustrated by Lisa Anchin

From Goodreads:

Patience is a South African penguin. She is small at roughly 6 pounds and approximately 20 inches tall; but at 24 years old, she is the “penguin in charge” of the penguin exhibit at New Orleans’s Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hits, devastating the city and surrounding areas with its catastrophic winds and flooding. The aquarium is severely damaged. With no electricity or relief in sight, the temperature in the aquarium reaches dangerously high degrees, putting the penguins in peril. Patience, and the 18 other penguins, along with some of the other zoo animals, must leave their home and their favorite human, Tom, the penguin keeper. Tom drives his penguins to Baton Rouge where an airplane transfers them to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. Here the penguins will recuperate and live until they can return home to New Orleans. After nine long months away from Tom and their home, the aquarium is finally restored. And Patience, who has been patient, and her penguins return to New Orleans to a cheering homecoming.

After reading the story to the class, process it with these or similar questions:

• Did you like the story of Patience the Penguin?
• Have you ever been afraid like Patience was when the power went out?  Who came to your “rescue”?
• Do you think it was scary for Patience to fly?
• How much patience did Patience have to have to stay somewhere else while she waited for her place to be ready again?
• How much patience would you have to have to not be in your home for 9 months? (that’s about the length of a whole school year!)
• The next time you have to wait for something, will you remember Patience the Penguin and wait patiently?

Click here to find the full list of books on Patience on our Goodreads shelf!