From the illustrator of the #1 smash hit The Day The Crayons Quit comes a humorously warm tale of friendship. Now also an animated TV special!
What is a boy to do when a lost penguin shows up at his door? Find out where it comes from, of course, and return it. But the journey to the South Pole is long and difficult in the boy’s rowboat. There are storms to brave and deep, dark nights.To pass the time, the boy tells the penguin stories. Finally, they arrive. Yet instead of being happy, both are sad. That’s when the boy realizes: The penguin hadn’t been lost, it had merely been lonely.
A poignant, funny, and child-friendly story about friendship lost . . . and then found again.
Publishers Weekly
This beguiling tale featuring the round-headed lad from Jeffers's debut book, How to Catch a Star, begins, "Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door." Enticing, spare text and watercolor pictures follow the earnest, red-and-white-striped shirt clad child's quest to help the sad-looking penguin find its way home. He checks with the Lost and Found Office ("But no one was missing a penguin") and futilely asks some birds and the rubber duck that shares his bath for guidance before reading (in a book drolly entitled Where Penguins Come From) that his new friend hails from the South Pole. After making sure their rowboat is ship-shape, the two set out to sea, the child rowing south while telling stories to the rapt penguin, sitting in the bow, endearingly holding a striped umbrella over its head when the weather turns stormy. The prose reflects the hero's sudden sadness after he sees the bird home (there "was no point telling stories now because there was no one to listen except the wind and the waves"). Youngsters will cheer the pals' inevitable reunion and will likely request an immediate rereading of this gently humorous and heartwarming tale of friendship found, lost and regained. Ages 4-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Sara Lorimer
Jeffers' previous book, How to Catch a Star, was a bit of a disappointment with great illustrations but unsatisfying text. With his new book, the story lives up to the excellent pictures. The story is simple and quietly told: a boy finds a sad-looking penguin at his door. Deciding the penguin must be lost, the boy helps it find its way home. They take a rowboat to the South Pole, with the boy telling the penguin stories the whole way there. They say goodbye at the Pole and the boy floats away. The penguin, looking sad, watches him go. The boy suddenly realizes his mistake: the penguin had not been lost, just lonely. After a few missteps, the boy and penguin are reunited. The book ends with a touching painting of the boy and penguin hugging. It could have been dreck, but Jeffers pulls it off. Anyone who has watched a small child play with a special stuffed animal will recognize the behavior in this book: giving the penguin emotions, looking after it, telling it stories, being comforted by it. The full-page, full color illustrations are charming, simple, and unusual. This sweet, but not sappy, book should be a hit with the preschooler crowd.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-"Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door." From this opening line to the very end, this gentle story of friendship will capture young readers' imaginations. The child assumes that the penguin is lost, which is logical since the lumpy black-and-white bird does look awfully forlorn. Determined to help the creature find its way home, he discovers that penguins come from the South Pole, and the two board a rowboat. During their long sea voyage, the youngster passes the time by telling his companion many stories. However, when they finally reach their destination, he realizes that the penguin was not lost, but just lonely and looking for a friend. The soft watercolor paintings feature simple shapes and a palette that ranges from pale to bold. The boy has a square body, stick legs, and a round head with tiny dot eyes and an expressive mouth. For much of the tale, the characters are placed on crisp white backdrops, while colorful ocean scenes depict their journey. The text's subtle humor and the appealing visuals make this title a wonderful read-aloud.-Genevieve Gallagher, Murray Elementary School, Charlottesville, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A lad finds a penguin on his doorstep and resolutely sets out to return it in this briefly told import. Eventually, he ends up rowing it all the way back to Antarctica, braving waves and storms, filling in the time by telling it stories. But then, feeling lonely after he drops his silent charge off, he belatedly realizes that it was probably lonely too, and turns back to find it. Seeing Jeffers's small, distant figures in wide, simply brushed land- and sea-scapes, young viewers will probably cotton to the penguin's feelings before the boy himself does-but all's well that ends well, and the reunited companions are last seen adrift together in the wide blue sea. Readers who (inexplicably) find David Lawrence's Pickle and Penguin (2004) just too weird may settle in more comfortably with this-slightly-less offbeat friendship tale. (Picture book. 6-8)
Read More
