Describe Measuring Penny Pictures
Blind kids benefit from picture descriptions every bit as much as sighted kids do from seeing the pictures. Don't forget to share these picture descriptions, written by a descriptive audio expert, especially for Great Expectations!
Picture Descriptions for Measuring Penny
Front cover
- Lisa, a blue-eyed girl of about eight or nine, holds a pencil in her mouth as she wraps a tape measure around her little dog's head. Two larger dogs rest their snouts on each of her shoulders.
Title page
- A cute Boston terrier named Penny lies on her back with all four paws in the air. She looks straight at us as a ruler sticks out from underneath her black-and-white body.
Dedication pages
- Penny crouches low to the ground, with one end of a tape measure in her mouth. A red collar encircles her short neck. Two hands grasp the other end of the tape in a game of tug-of-war.
First page of story
- Lisa, a blue-eyed girl with blunt, reddish bangs, sits at her desk in class. Lisa rests her chin in one hand and grips a pencil in the other. Two more students take notes, while a third peers at his open textbook.
Text begins: "Mr. Jayson says…"
- The children listen attentively to their teacher, who holds a piece of chalk. A homework assignment appears on a blackboard behind him. An animal-themed poster reads: "How tall? How heavy? How small? Measuring helps us to understand the world."
Text begins: "When I got home today…"
- Penny drools on Lisa's sketches of four different dog breeds. Lisa's dog Penny is a black-and-white pup with pointy ears that stick straight up from her head. She has friendly brown eyes, a little black nose, and a long pink tongue!
Text begins: "Come on, Penny…"
- Lisa's black-and-white sneakers and Penny's black-and-white paws leap across a stretch of grass.
Shadowy figures show dogs of all shapes and sizes rushing to greet Lisa and Penny. Lisa tugs on Penny's leash as the little terrier places her front paws on a larger dog's chest.Text begins: "I can't believe how many dogs…"
- Lisa holds a ruler to a Shetland sheepdog's nose. His snout measures four inches long. Penny's nose measures one inch long, and the stubby nose of a crinkly-faced pug measures in at only half an inch.
Text begins: "I'll measure your tails…"
- Lisa pinches a dog biscuit between her thumb and forefinger. She holds it up against Penny's tail, which measures exactly one biscuit long. A fox terrier's tail measures four biscuits long. A mixed breed's shaggy tail measures six biscuits. And a greyhound's slender tail measures ten biscuits!
Text begins: "I'll measure your ears…"
- Lisa's fingers unfold the pug's little ear to measure it with a cotton swab. It measures half a swab long. Penny's ear measures the length of one swab. A basset hound's floppy ear measures three swabs end-to-end.
Text begins: "Let's see how wide…"
- The mixed breed's shaggy paw leaves the largest paw print at five centimeters wide. The dachshund's glossy brown paw makes a print measuring two and a half centimeters. Penny's pearly-nailed paw makes a print that measures three centimeters. The cocker spaniel's soft golden paw leaves a print measuring four centimeters.
Text begins: "I want to see how tall…"
- The lanky greyhound playfully chews on Lisa's yardstick as she measures each dog's height. The greyhound measures thirty-six inches, or three feet tall. The cocker spaniel measures twenty-four inches, or two feet tall. The dachshund measures twelve inches, or one foot tall.
The ropey-haired mixed breed, balancing on its hind legs, measures forty-eight inches, or four feet tall. Penny stands eighteen inches, or one and a half feet tall.Text begins: "Let's see how high…"
- Frolicking dogs jump all around Lisa. The greyhound can leap over Lisa's head! The scruffy fox terrier can jump shoulder-high. Penny can leap waist-high. The droopy basset hound leaps up to Lisa's knees. The fluffy Shetland sheepdog leaps chest-high. The dachshund and pug relax on the grass, watching the others take their turns.
Text begins: "There is no scale here…"
- Penny and the pug sit on opposite ends of a seesaw. Penny's end drops low to the ground, while the pug looks worriedly from its high perch.
Text begins: "Now Penny's end is up…"
- Penny dangles off the high end of a seesaw as a golden cocker-spaniel weighs down the opposite side.
Penny and the Shetland sheepdog balance evenly on each end.Text begins: "You look thirsty, Penny."
- Lisa and Penny dash off amid a jumble of feet and paws.
Penny's white paws press down on a bathroom scale.Text begins: "Mr. Jayson says…"
- Penny gazes up at all of the differently-sized containers.
Text begins: "You drank a cup of water…"
- A cup of water flows into Penny's dish as her tongue laps up the drink.
Lisa adds more kibble to Penny's bowl. Penny gobbles up the food.Text begins: "Sometimes Dad and I make…"
- Measuring cups and spoons lie scattered on a table as Lisa pours ingredients into a mixing bowl. Her father rests one hand on her shoulder while holding a wooden spoon in the other. Penny watches them work.
Text begins: "I'm going to follow Penny…"
- Penny's red leash hangs from her mouth as she plants her paws on Lisa's lap.
Text begins: "I'll make a poster…"
- Penny holds Lisa's poster in her jaws, her sweet, brown eyes staring straight ahead.
Text begins: "I'll measure how quickly…"
- Lisa's hand cradles a stopwatch as Penny races through the room. A drawing maps out Penny's breakfast dash.
Text begins: "Temperature is important…"
- Penny gingerly tests her bathwater with one paw.
Penny draws back from a hand offering an ice cream cone.
Lisa holds a bar graph that uses dog's legs of different lengths to measure walking times.Text begins: "In fact, you can…"
- A chart shows drawings of Penny in different types of weather:
At eighty degrees, Penny pants heavily.
At sixty degrees, Penny bounds along on her leash.
At forty degrees, Penny hunches over, her nose low to the ground.
At twenty degrees, Penny shivers in her boots, hat, and a sweater.
At zero degrees, Penny lies by a roaring fire as icicles cling to the outer windowpane.Text begins: "The last thing…"
- Lisa and Penny look over a list showing the costs of having Penny.
Text begins: "…but she's worth…"
- A grinning Lisa and Penny cuddle cheek-to-cheek. Lisa holds a list showing the value of having Penny.
Text begins: "I'm sure Mr. Jayson…"
- Lisa holds Penny close as the dog licks her smiling face.
Back cover
- A crinkly-faced pug, a shaggy mixed breed, and a droopy basset hound wait their turn to be measured.
These descriptions were written by Jill Robbins for Great Expectations
