Penguins (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Penguins Deborah Stevenson Pichon, Liz Penguins; written and illus. by Liz Pichon. Orchard/Scholastic, 200822p Library ed. ISBN 978-0-545-02215-6$12.99 R 4-6 yrs A flock of penguins already having a fine penguiny time in their zoo enclosure are intrigued when a young zoogoer drops a camera into their area. Though not everyone immediately grasps the possibilities ("'Are you sure you can't eat it?' asks a hungry penguin"), a little penguin shepherds the rest together and starts snapping away ("Everyone look at me and say FISH!"). The photo session finishes when the camera stops working; it makes its way to the lost and found and thence to its owner, who is surprised indeed by the pictures that finish up the roll. While the story loses a little energy with a conclusion that simply reminds viewers of the earlier photo session (and do kids really have film cameras any more?), there's a fair amount of charm in the telling of the tale; the simple present-tense narration shines with perky yet understated humor (as in the list of "Everyday Penguin Activities," featuring such stellar pastimes as "Look at people" and "Look at more people"), and the animal-interaction notion will appeal to young nature lovers. The art sets up a repeated rhythm of contrast between the black and white, peanut-shaped penguins and the strong horizontals of enclosure and pond edge, and the birds have an exaggerated oversimplicity that makes them even more endearing. Pichon cleverly uses color sparingly in the penguin-centric scenes, with the birds' sunny yellow bills and feet standing out against the monochromatic scheme even when there are quiet background tones of blue and lavender, and youngsters will enjoy the surprise of the special features (a die-cut window approximating a viewfinder and a foldout series of the penguins' pictures). This is a droll and endearing tale that will have kids hopefully dangling their own Nikons over the penguin enclosure. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois