Pingo

Title: Pingo
Author: Brandon Mull
Illustrator: Brandon Dorman
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
http://www.shadowmountain.com/
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Picture Book
Audience: Gr. PreK-2
Overview: This picture book is about a boy named Chad who has an imaginary friend named Pingo. Chad and Pingo go on many magical adventures together. As Chad gets older, other kids start to pick on him for having an imaginary friend. As a result, he decides he wants to grow up and stop pretending Pingo is real. Pingo quickly becomes Chad's imaginary enemy by playing pranks on him. As the years go by, Pingo plays pranks on him less and less. When Chad becomes an old man he is revisited by Pingo. It is at this moment where Chad realizes how much he has missed Pingo and the fun they used to have. Chad and Pingo rekindle their friendship and embark on more magical adventures.
Activity: An activity that could be incorporated with this book could be one where students create their own imaginary characters. During this activity students could be given a large piece of poster board to draw their imaginary characters on. On this paper they could also give their characters a name and a short, simple written description. Their descriptions could include simply how they look, and/or character traits of their character. Lastly, the students could add to their drawing one adventure they would go on with their character, similar to the adventures Chad went on with Pingo.
Reviewer's Name: Amanda Scocco