A Goofy Guide to Penguins
Jean-Luc Coudray (Author), Philippe Coudray (Illustrator)
Toon Books
May 2016
Have you ever wondered how to tell penguins apart? I mean, they all look the same after all don’t they? Heck no! You tell them apart by the color of their snow gear of course! Hats, mittens, boots, what color do they wear? And what type? This book will teach you all of that, plus so many more questions that you probably never thought to ask!
So first question to answer, are these facts true? Of course not! Which is why the book is titled “A Goofy Guide” and “Everything you never, ever asked about penguins.” Twin brothers Jean-Luc and Philippe Coudray, best known for their Benjamin Bear series, continue to use their delightful sense of humor to answer questions that many of us probably never thought of, much less ever really wanted to know.In this fun and charming book the brothers tell us everything from “How do penguins stay out of the wind” to “why do they carve bottles out of ice” (to serve drinks of course!) The writing is simple enough to engage young readers to look for the answers to the questions (told through illustrations) while making older readers laugh at the types of questions being answered.
The best part of this book for me is that the brothers never directly answer the question, instead allowing the reader to look for the answer within the illustrations. The illustrations are filled with bright colors and funny antics of penguins trying to stay warm or playing hide and go seek. The colors and actions of the penguins will draw the reader in to the illustrations, noticing the tiny details of the small fish swimming next to the big fish or the rain falling sideways. Oh and how can I forget the baby penguin! The baby penguin (which is as cute and adorable as it sounds) stands outside the frame of the story narrating and asking the reader questions that they want answered. The baby penguin rolls about, catches its feet as it giggles and laughs at us, giggling and laughing at the penguins.
If you’re looking for a book to learn true facts about penguins never fear!…this book has a grand total of two pages at the end with real facts. Ermm…basically if you’re looking for a book about real penguin facts, look elsewhere. If, however, you are looking for a book that will engage the reader and use critical thinking skills to answer questions (even if they are weird and off the wall) then this is the book for you. And oh yes, if you’re just looking for a fun read this is a good book to pick up.
Review Copy provided by Toon Books
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