Could You Ever Waddle with Penguins!?

October 1, 2023
An invitation to younger children to act like Ad�lie penguins. Morales' cartoon illustrations alternating with nature photos place a racially diverse group of young folks in cool-weather dress amid flocks of the diminutive penguins. Markle not only offers observations about penguin behavior but also urges readers to squawk, sled, waddle, take "power naps," "fly through the ocean," and leap away from predators right alongside them. Sidestepping the topic of reproduction requires an awkward hop. The author's "Ad�lie pairs regularly gift [nesting] pebbles to each other" is misleadingly restated in the adjacent box as "When you live with penguins you will gift pebbles to your best friends." And no grown-up is going to thank her for this cheerfully suggestive line: "Hungry Ad�lie chicks call nonstop until a parent finds them and feeds them." Still, such playful suggestions are certainly child-friendly, and the series premise continues to artfully entice audiences to exercise both bodies and minds for insights into the world of nature--readers will especially enjoy the idea of tobogganing down a snowy slope like a penguin. Fans of the creators' Could You Ever Dive With Dolphins?! (2023) will be pleased. A closing page of additional facts includes aerial images of Antarctica in summer and winter. Well worth a waddle. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

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November 1, 2023
Grades K-3 The second volume in Markle's new Could You Ever . . . series challenges the reader to envision living as an Ad�lie penguin. A typical double-page spread here presents a penguin-related fact and its implications for the reader, reimagined as a member of an Ad�lie penguin colony. Illustrated with a photo, each left-hand page describes an aspect of penguin behavior, while the colorful digital art on the right features a child surrounded by penguins and engaged in some form of their typical behavior, such as squawking and listening to squawks in order to reunite with a mate, chick, or parent. Additional penguin-related facts are appended. While the juxtaposition of photos and original art rarely improves a picture book, it works better than usual here, perhaps because the artist uses elements of the photo's design or details in creating her adjacent picture. A reliable science writer for children, Markle takes a fresh approach to delivering information and creates an enticing choice for animal lovers who are learning to read.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2023

PreS-Gr 2-Well-loved science writer Markle poses a question for children: what if they woke up in Antarctica, part of a group of Ad�lie penguins? Would they stay warm? Morales, working in cartoon-style digital illustrations on the right-hand pages that blend easily with photographs of Ad�lie penguins on the left, shows a young bespectacled girl with tan skin and black hair shivering and then growing more comfortable because of the way penguin feathers are packed: "When you live with penguins, you will stay toasty warm even during a blizzard." One child after another, always with different hair and one of a variety of skin tones, experiences how to eat like penguins, swim, escape predators, leap, and more. Author and illustrator are in genuine lockstep as they cover penguin summers, nesting, the sounds penguins make, how little they sleep, and more. The last soothing lines will remind children that even though this is what it is like among the penguins, they can certainly remain with their own kind: humans. VERDICT This effortless nonfiction format provides facts stacked on facts in a way that is memorable and still works for reports. A great addition to the shelves.-Kimberly Olson Fakih

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