Product Description

Steven Kellogg's irrepressible Great Dane, Pinkerton, has been entertaining children for over twenty years with madcap tales full of humor and hubbub. Pinkerton has foiled a burglar, "borrowed" a hot-air balloon, chomped on a dinosaur bone, and turned a dog show upside down, to name a few of his misadventures. Now he's back with more charming mischief, as his dreams of adopting a penguin chick somehow end up tossing a football game into one big huddle . . . and that's just the beginning.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1079903 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Steven Kellogg's irrepressible pooch returns in A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton. This time around, Pinkerton mistakes a football for a penguin egg when his owner, Emily, reports all she's learned about the animals and their young. But chaos follows when Pinkerton loses track of his baby.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Pinkerton's back-and his new adventures are as outrageous and entertaining as ever. The story starts on the title page, as the oversized pup sneaks off with an unattended football. When his owner, Emily, comes home from school full of enthusiasm and information about their latest topic of study (penguins and their remarkable parenting skills), the Great Dane promptly decides the football must be an egg. When the girl decides to take him and his "egg" to school for show-and-tell, pandemonium ensues. An irate Billy gets his ball back by using a cookie as a bribe. Then on the way home, the dog just happens to find another football (it's in use at the time) and leads football players and spectators on a merry chase through a nearby dog show. He winds up at the empty ice rink, cradling his new penguin egg. Luckily, Granny has made a penguin egg (complete with zipper) and both Pinkerton and Emily are pleased as punch with the baby "Pinkwin" it contains. Kellogg's cheerful, busy artwork offers plenty of extra laughs, from Rose the cat's unsentimental musings (she sees the penguins-and most other animals, including Pinkerton-as potential cat food) to the outraged faces of the people and pets whose lives are complicated by the pup's headlong dash. An engaging story, humorous illustrations, amusing details, and a combination of perennially popular topics make this a sure winner.

Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 3-7. In this latest addition to the Pinkerton series, Emily entertains her family with facts from her classroom unit on penguins. Her description of male emperor penguins brooding their offspring by cradling eggs on top of their webbed feet impresses this lovable Great Dane; he, in turn, attempts to incubate a football on top of his paws. The results are predictably unsuccessful and hilarious as Pinkerton wreaks havoc on the classroom, a neighborhood football game, and a dog show. Finally, Granny uses her sewing skills to create a zippered egg containing a stuffed penguin pup for Pinkerton to parent. As always, Kellogg's signature artwork carries the plot, adding humor and details to the deadpan story line. For example, Rose, the family cat, expresses her own thoughts about adding penguin chicks to her diet--and her glee that sibling Pinkerton might be put in jail. This makes a good choice for story hours, especially for fans of this series. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Good Dad, Pinkerton! Good Dad!
At my school's recent book fair I fell in love with Steven Kellogg's "A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton." I continued to go to that book's shelf, pick up that book, look through it, laugh, and put it down. Because I was so enthusiastic about the book, I was able to sell several copies. (As librarian, I am in charge of Book Fair.)

Normally, I do not care for Kellogg's artwork (I apologize for saying that. Why don't I like it? Because it is so busy and cartoonish.) However, in this book, the artwork is more realistic. And the story, oh my gosh, the story is just nothing short of fabulous! I saw a video some years back on emperor penguins and how the fathers hold those eggs on their feet for the duration of winter, never letting them off, no matter what. I was mesmerized by their dedication!

When Pinkerton's girl comes home from school, explaining about emperor penguins, she assumes that Rose,their female cat, harbors a desire to be motherly. Wrong, it is Pinkerton affected by the story. He takes the football he "borrowed" earlier in the day from a neighborhood boy and begins to tend to it on his feet. The girl takes him to school the next day for Show-and-Tell. The football boy claims his football, Pinkerton finds another at a local football game on the way home from school. After mayhem and confusion, Grandmother, an expert seamstress, comes to the rescue with another "egg" that "hatches" a penguin pup. Everyone is happy, especially Pinkerton.

A simple summary. What is this? I closed the book and there on the back cover is the girl's teacher, holding an egg on his feet in the classroom. It is cracking....

That Kellogg has a sense of....whatever it is, it is funny, poignant, and downright entertaining! Way to go, Mr. Kellogg, you convinced me! This book is highly recommended!

Great story
My 1st grader came home with this from the library and we all loved it! It's a great story and wonderful illustrations. Kellogg really knows how to make kids laugh, but the adults were also laughing. I've looked for a while to find a reliable children's author who can tell a funny story and I finally found one!

Good job Pinkerton!
A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton
When Emily learns all about devoted Emperor penguin fathers at school, her Great Dane Pinkerton is inspired to begin caring for an egg himself. Unfortunately, since a penguin egg isn't available, the confused Pinkerton tries to hatch a football instead. Hijinks and pandemonium ensue as Pinkerton attempts to care for his "egg" against all odds.

This is a "mom only" book, since Emily's dad does not appear in the story (even at bedtime), and it is her Mom and Granny that Emily phones for help when the whole town begins chasing Pinkerton. On the other hand, Pinkerton is certainly a committed animal father, and an example of cross-species adoption as well.