Penguin Problems

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This charming collaboration between the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Bad Seed and the beloved illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man is full of snarky penguins—and a sneaky lesson in gratitude.

For one grumpy young penguin, there doesn’t seem to be anything he won’t complain about…

“My beak is cold.”

“I wish I could fly, but I can’t.”

“Everybody looks the same as me.”

But when a wise old walrus puts things in perspective, the penguin has to admit that maybe there are some things worth appreciating… at least for a little while.

Praised as “funny and acerbic” (The New York Times), this “classic comedy” (Publishers Weekly) is sure to elicit mischievous giggles from kids—and knowing sighs from the adults reading it aloud.

Jory John is the author of the picture books I Will Chomp You!, Quit Calling Me a Monster!, and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book Goodnight Already!. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Terrible Two, and the national bestseller All my friends are dead, among many other books. He is also the editor of Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama. For six years, Jory taught writing at 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and educational center in San Francisco.

Lane Smith has written and illustrated a number of novels and picture books for children, including two Caldecott Honor titles and four New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards. He was a 2014 recipient of a Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award and was named an Honor Artist by the Eric Carle Museum. He lives with his wife, book designer Molly Leach, in rural Connecticut.