Emperor penguin A first field guide to the flightless bird from Antarctica

In these installments in the Young Zoologist series (2 new titles), readers dive deep into the world of some of the planet's most majestic and beloved creatures. Highly visual, these books make a splash with their detailed illustrations, opening "Fact File" charts on their featured animals, as well as a "Before You Start" guides for readers that lay out key items needed for studying animals in the field. Topical double-page spreads present a range of pertinent subjects, from the animals' anatomy, life cycle, and daily activities to their social and family lives and conservation statuses. In Emperor Penguin, readers will gain an understanding of how these penguins cope with Antarctica's extreme cold (huddling up and specialized feathers) and dive to great depths to catch fish. What makes this series stand out is that the illustrations, bite-sized facts, and clear labels make it easy for the youngest of readers to navigate the text and absorb the information there. An immersive reading experience for the young and curious.

Up close and personal with the world's largest penguin. Emperors, according to marine biologist LaRue, and Adélie penguins are the only ones of the clan's 18 species that actually live in Antarctica. Emperors can dive deeper than any other bird, sport 12 different kinds of feathers, and may not be able to fly but are fine swimmers and even "pretty good climbers." These and like juicy info-bits are scattered on pages festooned with images of adult and hatchling penguins enhanced with maps, portraits of the creatures' prey and predators (some killer whales are "partial to a penguin," the author writes), current and extinct relatives, required clothing and gear for Antarctic researchers, and occasional humans that show scale (all the people are tan- or light-skinned). A final spread on the habitat threat posed by climate change puts a cap on the cuteness by featuring a droopy bird captioned "Reduced sea ice = unhappy penguins." No one wants that, surely. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Informative and winning. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.