2007_01_01_archive

365 PENGUINS (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK

365 PENGUINS by Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet (Abrams)

A mysterious package arrives on New Year's Day, containing one

penguin. The next day, a second penguin is delivered. The third day

brings yet another black-and-white buddy, but this trend can't

continue, can it? With the accumulation of Antarctic animals comes a

series of problems to be solved, some mathematical (three digit

addition, the budgeting of fish and the determination of proper

amounts...if each penguin eats 2.5 pounds of fish a day, how many

pounds will we need after the first three months of the year?) some

logistical (how shall the penguins be organized? How shall they be

cared for in the summer months? What to do about that penguin smell?)

and some emotional (how does one share a shower with hundreds of

penguins? "Once you reach the point of no return, one penguin more or

more penguin less each day doesn't make much of a difference anymore.

You live penguin. You think penguin. You dream penguin. You become

penguin.") By the time we are truly and wholly feeling this family's

penguin pain, though, the sender is revealed, along with his

surprising and provocative plan to help wildlife through global

warming. All's well, it seems, until the next New Year's Day when

another package is left at the fanily doorstep. What could be inside

this time?

This year is off on the right foot, or flipper, as the case may be,

with this absolutely majestic and marvelous oversized delight. A

snazzy palette of black, white, blue and orange makes this book extra

cool, and overall is visually daring and outrageously fun; children

will love looking for "Chilly Willy" with his icy-blue feet in the

midst of the penguin posse pictures. This book has irresistable

commercial appeal (kudos to the publisher on some outstanding

packaging), but it is also an educator's dream, with huge

illustrations to hold up and amaze a whole class, and plenty of

opportunities for problem solving and discussion on many levels. Not

since Bernard Waber's Lyle the Crocodile showed up splish-splashing in

the bathtub at the THE HOUSE ON EAST 88TH STREET has a unplanned and

unlikely pet been more welcomed in a family...or on the shelves of

children's literature. You'll enjoy this title every single one of the

365 days of 2007! (All ages)

Also of interest:

The eyepopping nonfiction tour de force, ZOO OLOGY (Roaring Brook) is

another remarkable offering by artist Joelle Jolivet. At 18 inches

tall, this oversized illustrated field guide is big enough to fit an

entire menagerie that would have been impressed even Noah. Handsome

woodcut specimens are fixed and posed upon each double-page spread,

and classified in unexpected, thoughtful ways: in the trees,

underground, on the seabed, at night, spots and stripes, black and

white, on and on! A little chameleon is hiding in each of the

pictures, to help children who are overwhelmed by the grandeur of the

book to focus in the face of such variety. This super safari in a book

will be cherished, astounding generations of children with the variety

of all of the creatures that walk the earth. A must for future