International Penguin Day - April 25

45 minutes

Intended for 25 guests, grades K-2

Supplies

"Penguin and the cupcake" by Ashley Spires
"Tacky the Penguin" by Helen Lester
"The Pirate and the Penguin" by Patricia Storms
50 paper plates
Markers
Scissors
Glue sticks
25 cupcakes

Program

As the children are arriving for the program, play some hangman for the first 5-7 minutes or so.
Before reading the stories, share some fun penguin facts with the children.  After all, it is International Penguin Day and this is a library, so they should learn something:

Even though penguins are birds, they cannot fly.  They can swim though.
There are 17 different species, or kinds, or penguins that live on the Earth.
Emperor penguins are the largest of all the penguin species, up to 4 feet tall.
Fairy penguins are the smallest of all the penguin species, only 16 inches tall.
The male Emperor penguin keeps the egg at his feet for 65 days to keep it warm.
Penguins live on four different continents: South America, Africa, Australia, and Antartica.

Since one of the books is the "Penguin and the Cupcake" I suggest reading this book first, and giving the children cupcakes.  With a cupcake in hand, the children will quietly listen to the stories you read.  Read through the rest of the stories. 

For a craft, make paper plate penguins!  Each penguin is made from two plates.  I gave mine a green bow-tie because he is already wearing his penguin tux!