Our Teachers Share Their Work
On this webpage you'll find art, stories and other work by our teachers – sometimes with a little help from their students!
The Penguin Gingerbread Boy Cookie
and the Eleven Little Penguins
- By Sofia Varela
- Illustrations by Toma, Ella, Tianqi, Lucca, Arielle, Yannai, Hazel, Gili, Ben, Ryanna and Ethan
- Download a PDF version
- Watch the puppet show on YouTube
De Anza Child Development Center teacher Sofia Varela explains how this story came about:
"This book originated from the children’s interest in the study of penguins in the
continent of Antarctica in January 2021. After reading nonfiction books to them, I
researched for narrative stories about penguin gingerbread cookies, since the children
were excited about this yummy treat. Luckily, there wasn’t a creative story written yet
...
"During group time, I announced to the children that I would write a penguin gingerbread boy story for them. At that moment, I began my writing journey for a children’s book that I could personalize for the eleven children in the classroom. After the book was written, the children’s enthusiasm for a puppet show was born."
Once upon a time ...
... a mother penguin named Sofia wanted to make gingerbread cookies for her baby Penguin Polarcito during the winter season in Antarctica. This was mother penguin’s first time cooking
inside her icy igloo, therefore she decided to make only one Penguin Gingerbread Boy
cookie. The igloo in which mother penguin Sofia lived had a small tiny oven.
When she opened the oven to peek and check on her cookie, out popped a Penguin Gingerbread Boy cookie! The Penguin Gingerbread Boy cookie ran out of the igloo teeny tiny door!
The chase for the Penguin Gingerbread Boy cookie began. Now remember that the Penguin Gingerbread Boy cookie was very skilled at sliding on its tummy on frozen ice, at running on fresh snow, and at swimming like a torpedo in ice cold oceans and fierce warm waters.
Download the rest of the story