Penguin the Magpie

March 15, 2017
After his wife, Sam, narrowly survived a terrible fall that left her lower body paralyzed, Australian photographer Bloom and their three sons were lost as to how to comfort the depressed shadow of the active wife and mother they knew. Into this abyss, fate would drop a fledgling magpie, gusted out of a tree and badly injured. They took the bird in; Bloom's sons named her Penguin, and as a family they decided that they would get her well or give her a proper burial if she didn't make it. Bloom's miraculous photos illustrate his family's story, especially Sam and Penguin's parallel journeys to rehabilitation: Penguin mimicking Sam's exercises; Penguin curled around Sam's toes; Penguin lazily disrupting Sam's journal writing. Also amazing are photos of Penguin with the boys, helping them brush their teeth, sharing a spaghetti noodle, or snuggling up to read. In her afterword to the book, which is already an international best-seller, Sam helpfully and honestly addresses others, and those who love them, who are dealing with spinal trauma and paralysis.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)