Tag Archives: penguins

Penguinaut!

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Poor Orville! All his friends at the zoo are bigger and have more adventures than him. So, he decides to go on a really, really big adventure. He is going to fly to the moon! He plans and builds and has some disasters, but he keeps working until he makes the perfect rocket. He says goodbye to his friends and flies to the moon, where he jumps, dances and has the best adventure all by himself! He feels a little lonely and finds a note from his friends. He flies back to earth where he has the greatest adventure of all – being with his friends.

This is a sweet story about friendship and perseverance (and a penguin). The illustrations are simple and the text flows well and becomes a part of the illustration (“Orville was small. His friends were BIG.”). While the story is really about friendship; it also introduces the concept of perseverance as Orville tries, fails and tries again until he successfully flies to the moon. The end is wonderful and students will agree that adventures are best with friends.

Be Brave, Little Penguin

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Pip-Pip is a nervous little penguin and very anxious about the idea of swimming in that absolutely HUGE ocean! Who knows what might be out there that might want to eat him? So, Pip-Pip plays alone, hearing the words ‘scaredy Pip-Pip’ from the other little penguins. Daddy penguin thinks this is silly, but mommy penguin takes a gentler approach. His family’s encouragement works and Pip-Pip overcomes his fear and discovers a world of wonder under the sea.

The lovely illustrations coordinate well with the lyrical prose. This story might just help a small human reader overcome a fear. Besides, who doesn’t love penguin chicks? Recommended

David, Fish & Penguins…

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 This simple story is about one little boy’s vivid imagination as it plays out from his waking in the morning, until his settling in for sleep at night. Each two page spread is awash in beautiful, rich colors that depict different animals.  The main character, David, is a cartoon outline with no color, while the animals from his imagination appear more alive than David with their lively color.  This book is a visual feast and children will find the illustrations engaging.

Translated from Spanish.

One Cool Friend

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 Elliot and his father visit an aquarium for the day. Elliot politely asks his father for a penguin.  When his father agrees, Elliot hurries off to get one.  What Elliot failed to realize is that his father may have been thinking of the stuffed penguins on sale in the gift shop, not the real one he manages to stuff into his backpack.  This is a layered story with subtle clues that are missed on the first read through. Children and adults alike will enjoy it even more the second and third time as they will now clearly see the signs that were missed on the first read through.  David Small’s choice of cool, pale blues and sparse color compliment the story nicely and evoke a wintry feel. This is an enjoyable story that children and adults will love.

A curriculum guide can also be found at:
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com/onecoolfriendcurriculumguide.pdf