Why Penguins Can’t Fly

About the Book

Many, many years ago, the relatives of today’s penguins flew over the ocean and dove down into the water for food. As time went on, flying became unnecessary for their survival. They didn’t have any enemies on land that would necessitate escape by air. Penguins spent most of their time in water; air wings gave way to flipper-like water wings. This change made penguins able to fly through water, using the same motions that other birds used to fly through the air. This is a fictional story about why penguins can’t fly today.

About the Author

I have attended writing seminars that emphasized writing strategies by authors such as Ralph Fletcher, Lucy Calkins, and Ruth Culham. I was able to apply these strategies in my classroom and during my tenure as a staff developer. As a classroom teacher, I was delighted when my students used these strategies to take their writing from “stilted” writing to creative and captivating writing. I received equal pleasure when our school staff read and discussed literature about writing and incorporated the writing strategies in their classroom lessons. These teachers experienced the same joy that I had experienced with my students. I worked in Montgomery County schools for twenty-seven years and really enjoyed it. In 2012, I retired and moved to Huntersville, North Carolina, which is right outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, my hometown. While I acquired many friends in Maryland, it is nice to be back with family and childhood and college friends. I especially enjoy spending time with my husband, Clarence, my granddaughter, Taylor, and my grandniece, Chloe. Other activities in my life include volunteering at the church that I attend, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. I also volunteer at Charlotte Mecklenburg schools and at a local branch of the Charlotte public libraries. I am excited about publishing my first children’s book, and I look forward to publishing many more. It is my desire that children will enjoy them and realize the potential in them to become authors.