Hello, This Is Your Penguin Speaking

With a little mechanical assistance, Penguin succeeds in realizing his desire to fly

PreSchool-Grade 2-- This frolicking book is a whimsical treatment of realizing one's dreams. Penguin is reading his favorite book when he declares ``I wish I could fly and carry passengers like an airplane.'' It is this wish that propels him into a flight of fantasy. His ingenuity is as endearing as his personality and bright ideas. His tenacity and creativity are laudable, as is his faith in himself despite the skepticism of his peers. While Penguin has personality, he remains nameless; he is also hard to pick out from the crowd of penguins filling these ink and colored pencil spreads. The illustrations work well with the light nature of the story, and help provide a zany progression of these zany Arctic antics. The colorful, lively endpapers show an appealing array of characters, including a space helmet, chocks, and a snowpenguin sculpture. While not a substantive entry, the story is fun.
- Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"I wish I could fly and carry passengers like an airplane," muses Penguin, as his fellow penguins (each sporting a scarf of a different color) romp on the ice and build snow penguins. He then observes a plane overhead, and decides that his flippers could substitute for wings, and his feet just might be able to function as wheels during takeoff and landing. So, with a friend perched on his back, Penguin attempts--with little luck--to fly. But when the resourceful fellow builds a propeller, which he attaches to his nose, and straps roller skates to his feet, he succeeds in soaring through the air--and into outer space. As his pals line up for rides, the proud pilot welcomes them to Penguin Space Shuttle. Although this amiable if not very inspired story line proves mildly diverting, it's Rigby's ( There's a Building on Sixth Avenue ) winsome, bustling art--featuring a bevy of prepossessing penguins--that lets this book truly take off. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.