Pufflings Fly Free!: A Rescue Tale from Iceland

From Sibert Honoree Colleen Paeff comes a quietly powerful picture book about one young girl’s courageous mission to save a baby puffin, or puffling, with the support of her community on the Icelandic Westman Islands, exploring themes of environmental conservation, animals, family traditions, and girls in science.

While most of the world sleeps, Freya and her family embark on a late-night rescue mission like no other. On Iceland’s Westman Islands, families gather at midnight to save lost baby puffins, or pufflings, guiding them safely back to the sea.

Freya has always dreamed of rescuing a puffling on her own, just like her older siblings. But every time she tries, the tiny birds slip through her fingers—beaks nip, claws scratch, and they escape.

When one puffling tumbles into the deep clamshell bucket of an excavator, out of reach from everyone else, Freya is faced with a choice. With her family ready to head home, she must find the courage to climb in and save the little bird—all by herself.

This fictional story is based on the Puffling Patrol, a real rescue that takes place every year on the Westman Islands of Iceland. Both the author and illustrator joined the Puffling Patrol and rescued birds themselves.

Colleen Paeff is the author of The Great Stink, which was a Sibert Honor Book, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, and a California Young Reader Medal nominee, and Firefly Song, which received two starred reviews. Fueled by English breakfast tea, a burning curiosity, and a love of research, she writes from a book-lined office in an old pink house with a view of the Hollywood sign. Visit her online at ColleenPaeff.com.

Linda Ólafsdóttir is an award-winning illustrator, painter, and author working in publishing and fine art. She has been nominated for a Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award twice, and she has won numerous awards for her illustration and design work. Linda draws, paints, and writes from her backyard studio in Reykjavík, Iceland, where she lives with her husband and two kids.