Review by Booklist Review
On the heels of popular penguin films like Happy Feet comes this book with its simple rhyming text and bold, bright, cut-and-torn paper illustrations that will delight young penguin aficionados while highlighting general penguin information. Each spread's descriptive sentence is conveyed in whimsical artwork that features vibrant hues and textured shapes to depict subtly diverse penguin groups, both chicks and adults. They waddle and toboggan to the sea, swim, and frolic among other sea creatures, like fish and sneaky seals. In a more softly rendered scene, Daddies warm fragile eggs with tender, special care. Slightly older readers will appreciate the appended Penguin Puzzler, a playfully arranged, Q&A-style collection of facts, including what penguins eat (and who eats penguins) as well as a Penguin Parade of the 17 species, with their habitats and size. --Shelle Rosenfeld Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Like his Dem Bones and Dinosaur Bones, Barner's straightforward primer about all things penguin is anything but pedagogical. In fact, the rhyming verse resembles more of a lyrical lesson (Cold penguins huddle close with penguin heat to share./ Daddies warm fragile eggs with tender, special care). For those more familiar with Arctic penguins, Barner sets the record straight: that the black-and-white birds can live in both cool and warm climes. He divides his opening spread into a cool blue backdrop on the left and a warm golden setting on the right (with matching accents on the yellow-eyed penguin of New Zealand). Horizontal spreads make the most of icy landscapes and coral reefs, with collage elements introducing brightly colored starfish, and gray watercolor wash underscoring the Arctic chill. Splashy images of penguins at work and play range from those eluding predator seals to a sleepy penguin floating with its parent. At story's end, a Penguin Puzzler reveals answers to some of the more confounding questions (Why do penguins look the way they do?), while a Penguin Parade identifies their many types and habitats. Whether or not readers are penguin aficionados to begin with, they will likely end up knowing more than when they started. Ages 3-7. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Colorful collages depict plump penguins performing a plethora of penguiny pastimes-tobogganing into the ocean, cuddling for warmth, honking to attract a mate. Barner's simple rhyming text presents a variety of the birds-those that delight in Antarctic cold and others that bask in Galapagos sunshine, some that lay eggs in burrows, and others that nestle their eggs on the tops of their leathery feet. Some facts fill the facing pages (such as "What do penguins eat?" accompanied by cut-outs of squid, fish, and krill), and a final spread proffers a parade of all 17 species, including data on global location, size, and weight. This effervescent effort will be just the thing for youngsters not yet ready for Gail Gibbons's informative Penguins! (Holiday House) or the more sophisticated rhymes of Judy Sierra's Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems (Harcourt, both 1998).-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This introduction to penguins shows their activities and habits in tropical and polar climates. The pithy rhyming text is nearly upstaged by the eye-catching cut-paper collage illustrations; unfortunately, on many spreads, the text falls too close to the gutter. The book appends a few penguin facts including what they eat and what eats them; a ""Penguin Parade"" highlights the seventeen different species. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
