Jump to:

• What is Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend all about?
• Who would Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend be great for?
• How Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend teaches about empathy
• Our favorite parts of Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend
• Overall thoughts
• Find a copy

What is Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend all about?

Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend by Hope Lavelle introduces Penelope, a halfling druid who makes friends with all she encounters. In this story, she is on a mission to discover the source a great roar that wakes her one morning… and help make the originator’s day a bit brighter.

On the way there, Penelope runs into many friends (including references to Penelope’s friends in the Heroes of the Vale D&D show) who all warn her of the danger ahead, trying to disuade her from persuing her path because they’d all heard rumors of the terrible creature ahead!

Penelope, though, takes each comment and turns it around! She collects a snack for the hungry creature, gets a light to alleviate the darkness in which they reside, and more, pursuing compassion, even in the face of a possibly scary situation.

Who would Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend be great for?

Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend is a great book to read with young kids, especially if they like magical tales, dragons, and mythical creatures! I read it to my 6yo who really enjoyed it, and I could see this being a great bedtime story for really little kids and a great reading-on-your-own for slightly older kids who are practicing reading skills.

How Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend teaches about empathy

Throughout Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend, Penelope is challenged by her current friends, ranging from will-o-wisps to a unicorn, on her perceptions of this new character she now seeks. Each time, she takes the rumor that’s being spread and asks if it’s true or if it can be interpretted in a way that speaks with empathy.

If Penelope is told that the creature lives in darkness, she suggests bringing a light in case they’re afraid of the dark! If it’s implied that this creature is cold and unfriendly, she brings a blanket to warm them up!

And in the end, it turns out that Penelope was right!

The roaring creature at the end seemed like they would be scary, and they even expected to be treated with fear, but it turned out they just needed someone to actually see them and understand.

It’s an important message to convey about questioning rumors, being careful about how you talk about others you haven’t met, and approaching new folks with the intent of trying to understand.

Our favorite parts of Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend

When I finished reading Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend with kiddo, he, very excitedly, had quite a bit to say when I asked him what he thought! Paraphrasing some of his responses:

[I liked that the dragon was nice! I have a friend who really likes dragons too; can we read it next time he comes over?]

[Penelope was cute and I like the leaf cloak! I want my next character to have a big brown or blue cloak like that.]

[The will-o-wisps were cool too. They were my favorites besides Penelope and the dragon.]

For me, in addition to the overall story and message being great, I quite enjoyed the fun rhymes and D&D references sown throughout the story. I though Penelope was an awesomely positive character, and the art was also very cool – it’s smooth, colorful, and very cute!

Overall thoughts on Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend

Overall, Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend is a very cute and fun book to read with kids that teaches a great message and has a lot of fun references to the Heroes of the Vale show and D&D in general. The art is great, the rhymes are fun, and my kid and I both liked reading this together… and I hope you do too!

Find a copy of Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend

You can find a copy of Penelope Half-Pint Makes a Friend through Barnes & Noble and Amazon!

Looking for more TTRPG and D&D themed books? Check out my list of “TTRPG and D&D storybooks for your young adventurer”!

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