Dancing Fish

Memory and history have been Penelope Lively’s terrain in fiction over a career that has spanned five decades. But she has only rarely given listeners a glimpse into her influences and formative years. Dancing Fish and Ammonites traces the arc of Lively’s life, stretching from her early childhood in Cairo to boarding school in England to the sweeping social changes of Britain’s 20th century. She reflects on her early love of archeology, the fragments of the ancients that have accompanied her journey - including a sherd of Egyptian ceramic depicting dancing fish and ammonites found years ago on a Dorset beach.

Blue Crab searches for a place to molt safely, then makes her way to the salty waters at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Reviewed by the Smithsonian Institution for accuracy, Dancing on the Sand is a fun and informative story. Appropriate for ages: 3-9.

When Polly the Penguin realizes that her home is melting away because of climate change, she recruits her friends to help solve the problem. This book introduces young listeners to her dilemma and addresses ways they, too, can combat this threat. The Folly of Polly the Penguin is told in rhyme. It's easy and fun for children and parents.