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Okay, okay. Penguins are not very holiday-ish. They don't even live on the right tip of the world. Most penguins live in a wintery climate. So, penguins, it is.
Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant. Full disclosure; I am such a BIG fan of Cynthia Rylant that I liked this book before I saw it. Then I saw it. The text is so simple and the penguins are so delightfully cute. They hurry to get dressed for the snow. They play in the cold. They hurry to throw their snowy clothes around. They rush into the warm kitchen. That's the whole story. You still have to SEE the book. It is a wonder to me that an author can take a handful of words and arrange them to create a winning book.
Penguin's Christmas Wish by Salina Yoon. Penguin knows that he can't find a Christmas tree where he lives. He packs up his friends and family and they go in search of a forest. Hints of earlier Penguin books show up in that forest and so do lovely pine trees, just right for decorating. Then winter weather strikes! There is no time for disappointment. Penguin and his crew find joy in the simplest gifts.
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater. Here's an oldie but goody! When a penguin arrives on Mr. Popper's doorstep, he gets another penguin from the zoo to keep the first one company. Nature takes it course and soon - penguin MANIA!! A Newbery honor book, Mr. Popper and his penguins have delighted young readers for years. This chapter book is for good third grade readers and up. Younger children will enjoy listening to the book.
0 Comments on Books of December - Penguins as of 12/14/2016 2:43:00 AM
Like it or not, we all are, on occasion, prone to being a little self-centered. When the world does not give us what we want we whine and wail about how terrible our life is and how the system is out to get us. In today's book you will meet a penguin who is convinced that every aspect of his life is a disaster, a nightmare. And then someone comes along who helps him gain a little perspective.
This is a deliciously funny book, and it is also one that gives is a gentle, thoughtful reminder that we should take the time to look around so that we see what we are perhaps missing.
One morning Penguin wakes up “way too early” and immediately he starts to complain. His beak is cold, the other penguins are making too much noise, and it snowed again the night before and he does not really like snow. Or the sun, which is too bright.
Feeling hungry, Penguin heads to the ocean. He finds the water too salty and he does not think he floats enough. In short he sinks “like a dumb rock.” When he dives under water to look for fish he encounters a hungry orca, and a hungry seal, and a hungry shark.
Though he is still hungry himself, Penguin gets out of the water because his flippers are tired from all the hard swimming he has had to do to avoid being eaten. It is hard work swimming when you are a penguin. It’s also hard work walking, or rather waddling, on land. If only Penguin could fly, but he can’t. If only Penguin could figure out which of the many penguins around him is his mother or father but he can’t because all the penguins look alike. If only….
Then a walrus comes over to a now thoroughly upset Penguin and offers him a few sage words of advice.
It is all too easy to get disgruntled about one’s life, to spend one’s days complaining about all the things that are not perfect, and to feel much put upon by one’s circumstances. However, behaving in this manner does not really make anything better. In fact, griping and grumbling more often than not just makes us feel worse.
In this clever picture book we meet a very disgruntled penguin who is so busy being upset with his lot in life that he forgets to notice that there are many wonderful things around him, things that should be giving him joy. If only he would bother to notice them.
When you live in Antarctica and wear a tuxedo it is a group activity to keep warm on a cold winter day. Scientists have documented that emperor penguins form huddles to stay warm in the frigid temperatures of this habitat.
The penguins have a sophisticated system of rotation to make sure that no one gets too cold, but by studying the Pointe Géologie Archipelago colony researchers have found that huddles are sometimes very short-lived activities for the birds.
When the cold sets in or the wind kicks up, the birds seek out a huddle. The temperatures in the huddle can become much higher than the birds comfort level and researchers first believed that the huddles would break up from the center, but after spending years observing these animals they found that one single bird leaving from the outside can break up a huddle.
While scientists may have originally thought huddles were a simple process in the penguin lifestyle, there is much more that can be learned from the way that these birds socially regulate their temperatures.
Penelope Parker lives with penguins! Short ones, tall ones; young and old—the penguins are from all over the Southern Hemisphere including some that live near the equator! Do the penguin antics prove too much for her to handle? Children count and then compare and contrast the different penguin species as they learn geography.
Polar bears and penguins may like cold weather but they live at opposite ends of the Earth. What do these animals have in common and how are they different? You might see them near each other at a zoo but they would never be found in the same habitats in the wild. Compare and contrast these polar animals through stunning photographs.
Happy Thanksgiving! It snowed here and so we had a white Thanksgiving. I love the snow.
I also love digital painting. When I was a kid taking art, digital wasn’t a thing. All the art supplies were sooo expensive and messy, and if you messed up, you had to start all over again. Now you can try and do billion different styles and colors…I sure am grateful for that.
Anyway, here’s a piece that I’ve been meaning to do all year ^_^
I drew it for my sweet Instagram buddy, Nerdpoppins. She loves Mary Poppins as much as I do! You should check out her etsy shop–so many amazing MP things!
She was also the host of this year’s “Mary Poppins in the Park”–a Mary Poppins day at Disneyland. I went and it was so much fun. Every dressed Mary Poppins-y and THE Mary and Bert came (!!!) Everyone had a great time.
Nerdpoppins is on the right…my sis is in the middle, and I’m on Bert’s arm, dying. (Isn’t the skirt beautiful? It was sewn & hand-painted by Nerdpoppins. I’m in awe.)
Speaking of that event, I gave out a limited edition print to the attendees! And I have some left over!
Would you like this sweet little 5×7 print? I’m gonna mail it out to the first 50 commenters! Here’s how to play:
1 – Leave a numbered comment of something you’re grateful for. (So, if the comment before you says it’s #12, you would write #13.) (If you are reading this from tumblr, you’ll want to comment here, on the actual blog.)
2 – If your comment is below 50, send your mailing address to storyboarder{at}gmail.com (That’s me!) And I’ll send you the print right away!
I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was the best ^_^
0 Comments on Mary Christmas Season! {+Giveaway!} as of 1/1/1900
Blue Whale Blues Written and Illustrated by Peter Carnavas Kane Miller 9/27/2015 978-1-61067-458-4 32 pages Ages 4—8 “When Penguin hears Whale singing the blues, he tries to help. But how exactly do you stop a blue whale from feeling blue? A delightful story about a whale with bike trouble and …
Engaging in critical thinking about one’s own belief system does not often include laughing so much you end up breathless and hiccuping but that’s just what happened one evening last week when our bedtime read was Meet at the Ark at Eight! by Ulrich Hub, illustrated by Jörg Mühle, translated by Helena Ragg-Kirkby.
This witty, keenly observed and questioning novella retells the biblical flood story with wave after wave of philosophical observations and deadpan humour. Two (male) penguins smuggle a third aboard the ark when an overworked and stressed-out dove chivvies them along to avoid extinction.
Deep in the hold of the boat the friends continue what they started on land: trying to tease out in their own minds whether God exists, and if so, what he is like. Conundrums (“We’re birds, but we smell like fish; we have wings, but we can’t fly.“), chance (“Life is so strange. If two other penguins had been standing here, they’d have been given these tickets and we’d have ended up drowning miserably,“), honesty, guilt and the complexities of friendships are explored with a stark innocence that makes the penguins’ questioning all the more powerful.
And these questions are ones that I think come naturally to children when thinking about religion – about punishment, about proof, about the essence of faith. The answers, such as they are in this book, leave a lot of space for making up your own mind; this isn’t a black and white pot-shot at religious fundamentalism, but something much more nuanced, even if some may find the laser-sharp humour hard to marry with their own beliefs.
Whether or not you or your kids pick this book up because of its rich philosophical strand, two further aspects of this moral tale are worth pointing out.
Meet at the Ark at Eight! is extremely funny. One scene in particular had my girls and I barely able to breathe for all the laughter as I read the book out loud to them; when the dove comes to check up on the penguins, one of them hides in a suitcase and pretends to be the voice of God. This scene is just so theatrical (it comes as no surprise to later find out that the author, Ulrich Hub, has written many plays) with perfect timing and exquisite dialogue. “God”‘s game is up when he pushes the boundary just a little too far and asks the dove for some cheesecake; I am putting money on this becoming a family catchphrase that will stay with us all our book=reading lives.
Secondly, the illustrations by Jörg Mühle are wonderful. Nearly every double page spread has at least one illustration and the characterization, especially of the dove, is sublime. I’ve seen very few cases in all the illustrated books I’ve ever read where an apparently simple, nonchalant line can pack such a punch.
I can only heartily encourage you to read this multi-award-winning retelling to find out how three goes into two for the final disembarkation in front of Noah. This novella hides real delight and serious philosophizing in between its slim, sensational pages.
The day after we read Meet at the Ark at Eight! “God” came visiting in his suitcase. We supplied cheesecake, and I’m glad to report that penguins, kids and all the celestial beings we know were all very happy with such a delicious after school treat.
Whilst taste-testing cheesecake we listened to:
Cheesecake by none other than the brilliant Louis Armstrong
Thank you – new to me but it sounds great. Interesting to see a Norwegian author, Scottish illustrator, but published by an US publishing house (and not available through any UK imprint I can see). I’ve added to my wish list!
to last WINTER and these two cuties....they put me in my HAPPY place! :)
'cause this girl has had ENOUGH of this rainforest-like climate and disgustingly high levels of humidity. i just was not made to handle such conditions. perhaps that is why i am known as the "ice princess" amongst my friends. WINTER is MY season!
ahh, Mr. WINTER...how i miss you so. your pristine beauty from freshly fallen SNOW to clean, cold temps. i await you anxiously, my dear friend....overly anxiously perhaps....i digress. and with that being said...
these two bits of adorableness known as Alaska and her little buddy, Aspen can be found FOR SALE here. they are ORIGINAL PAINTINGS, NOT REPRODUCTIONS.
however, since i like to offer up choices, reproductions and other bits of deliciousness with these two featured can be found here and here as well.
why not get yourself in the WINTER spirit now?! i surely am every. single. day.
{i need to write/illustrate a kids book about the wonders of winter, i'm thinking....}
0 Comments on throwback.... as of 7/9/2015 10:30:00 PM
Title: A Penguin Named Patience, A Hurricane Katrina Rescue Story Written by: Suzanne Lewis Illustrated by: Lisa Anchin Published by: Sleeping Bear Press, 2015 Themes/Topics: Hurricane Katrina, penguins, rescuing, patience Suitable for ages: 3-7 Opening: Patience knew something was terribly wrong. It was dark and steamy … Continue reading →
Paulette Bogan perfectly describes every child’s egocentric outlook on how a new friend is “only theirs” in Virgil & Owen. Virgil is so happy to find a polar bear named, Owen. He is so excited to have Owen as his new best friend and to have him all to himself.
Having mastered ballet in Flora and the Flamingo, Flora takes to the ice and forms an unexpected friendship with a penguin in Molly Idle's Flora and the Penguin.
Illustrator Sam Usher burst onto the scene two years ago with with a riot of colour and pattern in Can You See Sassoon?, which was shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Award 2013. When your first book gets flagged up as a potential prize winner, there is some expectation and anticipation when it comes to future publications.
More than two years after Can You See Sassoon? was published, Usher is back, and like all good things, it has been worth the wait.
Snow by Sam Usher celebrates that wonderfully exciting feeling in the pit of your stomach when you open your eyes in the morning, draw back the curtains and… your world has been transformed by a deep blanket of snow. The potential for play, the white world waiting to be explored, the possibility to really make your own mark….ahh! Just how quickly can you get out there to delight in at all?
A young boy zooms through getting ready, frustrated by the time it takes his Grandfather to join him. Will it be worth the wait for other kids are already out there leaving footprints everywhere?
A whole lot of snowballs and a little bit of childhood magic later, Grandpa and child agree “some things are definitely worth waiting for“. With Snow, I couldn’t agree more.
Usher’s illustrations are full of life and energy; there’s a comfortable looseness about them, and I cannot help but draw comparisons (in the best possible way) with Quentin Blake. Perhaps it is because the Grandfather in this story physically reminds me of Blake, with his bald pate and avuncular manner. But it’s also in the noses, the wonky fingers, the hand gestures and I love this stylistic echo. Indeed I get a real kick from these potentially vulnerable pen lines that speak to me of a real person, drawing a line that connects creator, story, reader and listener together.
With another contender for my favourite page turn of the year, showing how an almost plain white page can produce both gasps and a burst of warm delight, Snow is a wintry classic that will bring much delight and joy, however long you have to wait for it.
Alas weather in our part of the world has been unseasonally warm so I don’t hold out much hope of snow any time this year. Ever the optimist, I instead made some snow to play with in the warmth of our kitchen.
Snow dough is a moldable yet friable substance akin to commercially available ‘moon sand’, made out of corn flour (corn starch) and oil. We mixed about one part sunflower oil to four parts corn flour, and just for good measure added in a few drops of peppermint essential oil so that our snow dough smelt like Christmas candy.
I smoothed out the snow dough to recreate that blissful untouched vista of snow, and brought out a load of playmobil people and plastic animals (matching those in the book where possible). A small pot of glitter, for pinching and casting over the scene to add a little extra sparkle completed the invitation to play.
Lots of tracks in the snow were made, and because the snow dough is moldable, caches of snowballs and even an igloo were also prepared.
The snow dough has a wonderful crunch to it when you mold it – satisfyingly just like real snow!
Cake and hot chocolate completed our afternoon playing in the “snow”.
Whilst playing in the snow we listened to:
Dean Martin sing Let it Snow!
Snow Day by Zak Morgan – we really love this one!
Snow Day Dance by The Fuzzy Lemons
Other activities which could work well alongside reading Snow include:
Creating your own snowstorm at home. Inspired by the ‘Snowstorm in China’ magic trick (click here to see in action – I’m assuming shiny trousers are optional), you – and the kids – could tear up large quantities of white tissue paper and then use fans to get the “snow” falling in your home.
Researching how to make the best hot chocolate. Why not make a “science lab” with different types of milk, cocoa vs hot chocolate powder vs melted chocolate, optional extras like marshmallows or flaked chocolate and investigate different ways of making this wintry drink; kids will no doubt enjoy coming up with their own recipes. Here’s a comparison of different recipes to get you started.
I know at least one of my readers has already got snow this November (Hello Donna!), but has anyone else had the chance to play in snow yet this year? Or are you heading into Summer?
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of Snow from the publisher.
3 Comments on Some things are worth waiting for: Snow by Samuel Usher, last added: 11/20/2014
We love Can You See Sassoon? and can’t wait to read Snow.
Thank you for the snow recipe, I love the idea of adding peppermint oil.
Marjorie (MWD) said, on 11/20/2014 1:34:00 AM
I haven’t hear of snow dough before – it sounds great – and I love your hot-chocolate-tasting experiment – I’m first up for that one!
And the book looks gorgeous – I can definitely see your comparison with Quentin Blake. Beautiful review, Zoe!
Pippa Goodhart said, on 11/20/2014 2:01:00 AM
That expanse of white is a surprising delight, isn’t it! I love this book. And I’m really really excited that Sam is currently illustrating a book of mine – ‘Danny’s Day’. It is SUCH a treat having your story brought to life with brilliant illustrations.
I received a package in the mail this week, and now I can finally show you a sweet assignment that dropped in my lap this summer. If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen the whole thing in excruciating detail, but it always takes me a bit longer to come over here. Well, here goes:
Here I am on the table of contents, mine is the seal juggling Oreo truffles - of course.
I got to do a feature for allrecipe magazine, and although I'm playing it cool, it was pretty exciting.
For this holiday candy recipe layout, the Art Director chose to photograph the confections in a watercolor Candyland landscape. The candies would become part of the picture, and turn into something else. I got to invent a storyline, paint the scenes and come up with ways to "disguise" the candy, which was a lot of fun.
The Adventures of Wally and Warren Series: The Reluctant Penguin by Lise Chase
The Adventures of Wally and Warren continue wit their love of books. Hunkering down for bedtime, Warren is determined to read a bedtime story. Remembering how mom taught him how to sound out the words he is confident he can do it. Not to be thwarted by Wally’s negativity of anything Warren wants to try himself, Warren puts his best foot forward to each task Warren’s attempts are admirable. Does Wally ever learn that one must try new things to expand their horizons or does Wally remain wrapped up in his self-doubt?
Best wishes, Donna M. McDine Multi Award-winning Children's Author Ignite curiosity in your child through reading! Connect with Donna McDine on Google+ A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star Review Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Story Monster Approved and Reader's Farvorite Five Star Review The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
0 Comments on Children's Picture Book Review - The Adventures of Wally and Warren: The Reluctant Penguin as of 10/24/2014 8:28:00 AM
Written and illustrated by Molly Idle
Published by Chronicle Books 2014
978-1-4521-2891-7
Age 4 to 8 (+) 32 pages x x
“Flora is back and this time she partners with a penguin. Twirling, leaping, and gliding on skates and flippers, the duo mirror each other in an exuberant ice dance. But when Flora gives the penguin the cold shoulder, the pair must figure out a way to work together for uplifting results.”
Opening
As Flora ties her right skate, she notices something poke out of a hole in the ice. What could it be?
Review
Flora is back at the ice rink, getting ready to glide and twirl when she sees something odd in the hole across from where she sits lacing her skate. Flora extends her hand, offering it to Penguin. He accepts (I am assuming Penguin is a he, I really do not know). Flipper in hand, the pair glide in perfect harmony. Left foot glide to the right; turn and right foot glide to the left. In absolute harmony, Flora and Penguin take off and then LEAP into a perfect twirl.
Oh, NO! Penguin misses his landing, falling onto his rotund rear. Flora glides away . . . laughing. Penguin belly slides to her with a twinkle in his eye. This is not Flora and the Flamingo. The grace and style are present. The harmonious duet is there. The serious business of skating is not. Penguin brings the smiles and laughs out of Flora. He also spoils his partner, or, rather, he tries. Flora rejects Penguin’s gift. Sure, it is a small fish he has brought her; a snack Penguin chased below the ice—in synchronicity with Flora’s skating. Flora flips the fish over her head. Penguin looks mortified as his gift somehow lands into the hole in the ice and swims away.
The beautiful illustrations once again capture the elegant characters gliding, twirling, and leaping. At quick glance, one might believe this is the Caldecott Honor Book Flora and the Flamingo, only with a penguin. That person would be wrong, terribly wrong. In Flora and the Flamingo, Flora is the student learning from Flamingo, the teacher. In Flora and the Penguin, Flora is no longer the student, nor is she the teacher. She and Penguin are friends skating together and having fun. When Penguin misses his landing, no one turns away in admonition. No, Flora happily laughs and Penguin giggles as they join back together. These two are playmates.
Playmates have fights, as you are sure to remember. Flora turns away in a pout, checking on Penguin when he looks away. Penguin is also pouting in anger and keeping an eye on Flora. These two friends need to find their way back and Ms. Idle does this in grand style. A four-page grand spread. Flora and the Penguin is a gorgeous, wordless picture book that will wow anyone lucky enough to turn the pages. Some pages contain flip-up, -down, or –sideways, always changing the scene and promoting a smile.
Flora and the Penguin is an easy choice for anyone who loves ballet. Yet this gorgeous, should-win-lots-of-awards picture book will attract a wider audience. Like her throngs of admirers, I cannot wait for her next release, though I am secretly hoping for new characters in a new story. Whatever direction she takes, parents and young children will love the finished product. Ms. Idle has perfected the art of wordless storytelling.
by Molly Idle
Chronicle Books 2013
978-1-4521-1006-6 CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK
Age 4 to 8 32 pages x x
“Friendship is a beautiful dance. In this innovative wordless book, a tentative partnership blooms into an unlikely friendship between a girl named Flora and a graceful flamingo. With a twist, a turn, and even a flop, these unlikely friends learn at last how to dance together in perfect harmony. Artist Molly Idle has created a story full of humor and heart, with emotions that leap off the page, and memorable characters who are worthy of countless standing ovations.”
Opening
A flamingo, peacefully standing one-legged in the water, turns its head to look behind it and eyes one little girl, named Flora, standing one-legged in the water, imitating the flamingo, who then turns her head to look behind her.
Review
Do you remember repeating everything your older sibling said or mimicking every movement, just because you could? Flora mimics the flamingo, but not to get the flamingo’s goat. The little girl, in her pink one-piece swimsuit and pink flowered swim cap, takes on the flamingo’s graceful movements and the two begin a beautiful duet.
Words would undeniably be a distraction in the story of Flora and the Flamingo. Movement flows from a variety of flip pages attached atop Flora or the flamingo on several of the pages. For example, Flora imitates the flamingo’s stance: standing on one leg, head tucked under a wing. Flip down the flaps and the stances change. Both dancers remain on one leg, but now each twists her head toward the other, possibly checking to ensure the other is still there.
The flamingo is Flora’s mirror, or maybe Flora is the flamingo’s mirror. Each bend, each stretch, each turn, and each look magically appear on both characters at the same time. Flora and the Flamingo will make you giggle and grin. Young girls will love the mystical dance between these two unlikeliest of friends. Before a friendship can be established, the flamingo LETS Flora have it! The shock of flamingo’s sharp bleat flips Flora over and up, landing her on her rear, unhappy. Flora turns her back, refusing to play any longer, but the flamingo finds this worse than being shadowed. It offers Flora a wing, which Flora thinks about before allowing flamingo to help her to her feet. (Are these two friends or siblings?)
At the moment of friendship, when Flora and the flamingo become dancing partners instead of solo acts, the spread takes on a drastic change. The two begin together on one page. They had begun their awkward dance with the flamingo firmly staying on the left page and Flora on the opposing right page of the spread. Now both are on the right page, figuratively and physically. Their movements become wider, and joyous. The two fly across the spread, smiling as they float, as if on ice. Then there is a big finale, as all great ballets should have. The finale is a wonderful dance only Flora and her flamingo can perform, together in the same spotlight, four pages in length. BRAVO!
Girls will love this graceful dance between friends, especially those little girls starting their first ballet lessons, wearing their pink tutus, and pink leotards, and some with pink ballet shoes, while others still will have pink ribbons in their hair. Flora is at her first class and flamingo is the instructor. This makes a wonderful baby-shower gift, when the parents-to-be know they have a girl on the way. Flora and the Flamingo is a beautiful book, with brilliant illustrations that float across the pages. It is no surprise Flora and the Flamingo became a Caldecott Honor Book. The medal winner must have been an amazingly illustrated picture book to beat out these two graceful dancers.
Title: Flight School By Lita Judge Published by Athenium Books for Young Readers, April 2014 Ages: 3-7 Themes: penguins, flight, courage, dreams Opening Lines: “I was hatched to fly’” said Penguin, … Continue reading →
This interview arose from one of those serendipitous moments. I had been liking all Lita’s posts on FB about her new picture book FLIGHT SCHOOL for several weeks and had been thinking that I must see if she would like … Continue reading →
I’ve been seeing these little penguins in sweaters all over the web lately. The story behind these guys is that there was a massive oil spill in New Zealand effecting all kinds wild life including penguins. In an effort to save the birds they were being fitted with sweaters to keep them warm and from preening their oil soaked feathers. They looked so cute that the knitting sweaters for penguins request took off like a rocket ship but then came the controversy…because on the web there is always controversy. Did the penguins really need the sweaters or was it just one of those internet phenomenons? There are quite a few different takes… Some say they still need them, some say it stresses the penguins to be in sweaters, others say they need them to help a charity but not for real penguins (the charity is putting them on stuffed penguins and selling them to help raise money). The latest info I’ve read is that the penguin sweater knit-a-thon is still on. Tomorrow it might change. The internet is a funny place full of information that isn’t always as accurate as we’d hope.
Anyhow the story got me thinking and I know there’s a picture book in there somewhere. So I thought what if there was one little clever penguin who decided instead of asking for a sweater he wanted something else. Maybe while the volunteers were looking to opposite way that little guy jumped on a computer and asked for something else. I imagine as a stressed out little penguin a vacation to someplace warm and sunny might be just the ticket. And what if the message he sent out went viral. Donations started flooding in from all over the world, suddenly planeloads full of penguins in sweaters show up to beach side resorts everywhere and settle in for fun in the sun. How much fun would that be?
The internet is all abuzz about knitting sweaters for penguins. Snopes.com first said it wasn't true, but now they're showing uncertainty. As a children's book illustrator, I can just use the story as a jumping off point for a sketch. Lucky me. What could be cuter than penguins in sweaters?
0 Comments on Sweaters for Penguins as of 3/7/2014 11:58:00 AM
When you live in Antarctica and wear a tuxedo it is a group activity to keep warm on a cold winter day. Scientists have documented that emperor penguins form huddles to stay warm in the frigid temperatures of this habitat.
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Engaging in critical thinking about one’s own belief system does not often include laughing so much you end up breathless and hiccuping but that’s just what happened one evening last week when our bedtime read was 
My favorite is Why Dogs Have Wet Noses: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592701736/braipick-20
Thank you – new to me but it sounds great. Interesting to see a Norwegian author, Scottish illustrator, but published by an US publishing house (and not available through any UK imprint I can see). I’ve added to my wish list!