Books in Penguin Core Concepts series

The Story About Ping covers the concepts Family and Problem Solving. This classic children’s book was first published in 1933 and is still as delightful and relevant as ever. Ping’s owner takes him and his siblings to the river for dinner. When it’s time to go, Ping is the last duck in the water and, as such, will receive a spanking. To avoid punishment, he hides—only to be captured the next morning by a young boy for his family’s dinner. Finally Ping is set free, and when he sees his master’s boat, the last thing he fears is a spanking—he’s just thankful to be home!

Drip,drop,skip and hop.Splish, splash,sidewalk dash!It's worm weather! Join in the rainy-day fun, as kids splash through the puddles, affecting another weather enthusiast, a nearby worm. An imaginative and playful story, readers will love seeing the worm delight in the weather just as much as the kids.Worm Weather covers the concepts of Imagination and Weather.

Slither along with one of nature's deadliest hunters—and learn all about what makes rattlesnakes so dangerous!Rattler has not eaten in a week. After hiding from the hot sun all day, he starts hunting. Rattler uses his venom to paralyze his prey and his tail to scare away predators. He even swallows his prey whole! Follow along as Rattler grows up, sheds his skin, and has his own children.

Bizz and Buzz are two bees who want to make honey buns. So, they ask their friend Bear for his recipe. Although the directions seem simple, Bizz and Buzz make mistake after mistake, like finding a little flower instead of adding a little flour. What will bee-come of the honey buns? Bizz and Buzz Make Honey Buns covers the concepts Friendship and Problem Solving.

Hard Hat Zone covers the concepts Community Workers & Helpers and Problem Solving.Construction sites are some of the most interesting places, especially for young boys. Join the workers as they use dump trucks, cranes, concrete mixers, backhoes, and payloaders to build a new skyscraper! Full of photographs, Hard Hat Zone is an exciting and informative read for children interested in how things are built.

Brr-ring! Up pops a fireman at the sound of the fire station alarm, and he rushes with his crew to put out a house fire in a nearby neighborhood. The family is safe, but one of their Dalmatian puppies is missing! It's up to the brave fireman to rescue the pup from the burning house—and in the process, he finds himself a new firehouse friend.The Firefighter covers the concepts of Community Workers & Helpers and Problem Solving.

Exposing children to a diverse range of literary and informational texts, the Core Concepts program helps develop important literacy and cognitive skills necessary to meet many of the Common Core State Standards. In this new nonfiction 8x8, kids will learn all about ballet: the most famous ballets, the positions, the outfits, the fun--and the hard work! It's not all roses and tutus for ballerinas. Dancing takes hard work and lots of practice. Beautiful Ballerinas will introduce readers to the beautiful dance of ballet with a mix of both illustrations and photos that will bring the dance to life!Beautiful Ballerinas covers the concept The Arts.

Hummingbirds are some of the most beautiful, tiniest birds in nature. They are the only creatures that can fly forward, backward, sideways—even upside down! Their hearts beat anywhere from 500 to 1200 times every minute; their wings flap as many as 52 times per second; and they breathe up to 600 times per minute. This fact-and-photo-filled nonfiction 8x8 will leave readers astounded by the smallest bird in America!Hummingbirds covers the concepts Animals and Nature.

Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel? You go up, up, up and can see for miles! But when the inventor of the Ferris wheel, George Ferris, first pitched the idea, everyone thought he was crazy. A 250-foot bicycle wheel that goes around and around and carries people in train cars? Can't be done, they said. But George proved them wrong. Read about how George's hard work, courage, and imagination created one of the most famous fair rides today.George Ferris, What a Wheel covers the concepts Imagination and Problem Solving.