The Trouble with Penguins

October 5, 2020
It doesn’t take a lot for a chummy group to come apart at the seams, as anyone who’s been to a kid’s birthday party knows. The same is true for the penguins in these pages: invited to a marshmallow roast by an ice cap’s child inhabitant, they initially have a great time sharing a single fire and adorably entertaining themselves—making snow angels and juggling marshmallows as they wait for their turn with the roasting stick. But sharing gets old fast, and the ocean is soon filled with several little ice floes, each one containing a penguin who has a roasting stick and a campfire of its very own—and who is now very lonely. “Thankfully,” writes debut author-
illustrator Jordan-Glum, “penguins are
full of good intentions and aren’t half bad
at learning from their mistakes”; everyone regroups back on the ice cap for a hot beverage and a community campfire. The knowing, parental voice keeps the story warm at the core, while the fanciful polar landscape is brought to life in bold brushstrokes, fluffy textures, and splashes of aurora-like color. Ages 3–6. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio.

October 15, 2020
When a group of penguins meet a human, everything changes. At first, they're all happy...until they aren't. One day, a penguin meets a child--simply referred to as "the person"--roasting marshmallows. After spending a companionable time with the person, the penguin rejoins its group and tells them all about fires and marshmallows. "Naturally, [they all want] to roast marshmallows by the fire, too." At first, they are "all happy to share one little fire that gave off the most delightful warmth"--until they aren't. (It seems penguins don't like to share.) As the birds each start building their own fires, the ice cracks, and they find themselves each on their own piece of ice. At first, that's nice, until they are lonely. Eventually, they find their way back together again and give communal life another try, "and that was no trouble at all." It's quite charming, but ultimately, the message of the story is a little murky. Is it about friendship and the perils of not sharing, perhaps? Or the need to balance individual desires with community needs? Or is there an environmental angle to it, with all the warming from the fires changing their habitat? Sweet, textured penguins drawn against cool-colored washes of wintry blue and purple backgrounds populate this cautionary tale. The child is pale with dark hair. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 18% of actual size.) Children will need a little guidance from their adult readers to navigate this one. (Picture book. 3-6)

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