Product Description

A quirky new tale from a rising talent — in which a bossy little boy receives a surprising comeuppance.

When Ben rips open his present, he finds a penguin inside. "Hello, Penguin!" he says. "What shall we play?" But Penguin says nothing. Even when Ben tickles its belly, sings a funny song, does a dizzy dance, stands on his head, sticks out his tongue, and resorts to increasingly rude and drastic measures, Penguin makes no response. What will it take for Penguin to say something — or for Ben to understand what Penguin has to say? Fresh, spare illustrations bring whimsy to this wonderful tale, in which a silent Penguin turns marvelously eloquent and a little boy finally gets his heart’s desire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77041 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-12
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From Booklist
Ben is disappointed that the penguin he receives as a present is mute. He tries everything from tickling it to entertaining it with a song and a dizzy dance, but Penguin doesn't speak. Ben fires Penguin into outer space, but he returns as silent as ever. Then he tries to feed Penguin to a passing lion, but the lion goes after Ben instead. Penguin saves the day and then recounts all of the preceding episodes in his own, pictorial language. The closing scene, in which Penguin responds to Ben's hug by uttering a heart-shaped message, warmly conveys that the adversaries have finally found common ground. Dunbar complements her short, straightforward text with equally spare illustrations, judiciously brightened with color, in which Ben, Penguin, and Lion (and little else) appear on completely white pages. This brief, brisk story will hold the attention of impatient children, while its messages about easing standoffs through communication and mutual respect bears repeated reading. Enos, Randall

About the Author
Polly Dunbar is the author-illustrator of DOG BLUE and FLYAWAY KATIE and the illustrator of SHOE BABY, written by her mother, Joyce Dunbar. She lives in Brighton, England.

Customer Reviews

Finding the Right Words
Penguin is a delightful picture book that not only is likely to appeal to imaginative young children but also can shed some light for parents on the frustrations of early language development. Children whose language is still emerging can act the little boy in the story--or the penguin as they try to find the right words to say or to respond to someone else. One of the delights of the book is the way imaginative play is built right into the book as a toy lion turns ferocious and then is tamed again.

Penguin Says...
My almost 2 year old son loves this book and we read it day and night. The repetitive nature of the story gives him lots of opportunities to join in the reading plus he is able to act out the way the main character, Ben, interacts with his new penguin. It is always a lot of fun.

Cute book
We've purchased about 30 books in the past 6 months for our 2-year-old and this is definitely one of the better books we've read. The illustrations are good (not-too-cluttered) and the language is age-appropriate for the 2 to 4 year old range. The book has continued to make both me and my wife smile even after multiple readings to our child.