Flip and Flop

by Dawn Apperley

A two-year-old penguin named Flop is sad when his five-year-old brother, Flip, would rather play with Hip, a polar bear friend his own age, in an Arctic romp that will warm the hearts of little siblings of every climate.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Christmas, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2001

Reviews

[Leigh Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story about friendship and having siblings. It teaches children that playing with siblings is fun, but it is also good to have friends to play with as well. It is a fun story with colorful pictures.

[James Greening · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute children's book that offers a wise lesson in friendship and older siblings. The illustrations are simply adorable as well. A very good read!

[Jared Pangier · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter loved this. I loved this. A simple story with simple illustrations, portraying sibling love between a younger and older sibling penguin who do everything together until they don't. Eventually, though, the older penguin Flop gets tired of doing "Boomba" with his younger brother and he moves onto a child of his own age—a polar bear named Hop. That leaves Flip all alone, doing "Boomba" by himself until a younger polar bear slides into the scene named Hip, who just happens to be Hop's younger brother. In the end, "Boomba" gets expanded, as does the circle of friends, to include all.
This heartwarming story is patterned perfectly in parallel to remind us all of the importance of sharing time with our loved ones...no matter the age.

This book was read alongside Dr. Seuss's You Are You and Would You, Could You Save the Sea? Both of those books were enjoyed as well, but Flip and Flop came out on Top.

[Carly Roesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading this book, I thought it was very good. It was about two brothers of different ages playing together when all of the sudden the older brother, Flip wants to play with someone his own age. When he finds a new friend, the younger brother Flop, feels that he is left out of any fun. In the end, they all find a game to play that is fun for all ages. It is a great children's book and was a lot of fun to read!

[Lexie Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for children who have younger siblings. I read this book growing up and it is a very cute story about getting older and making individual choices. It shows children how to treat others and include them. I also love the illustrations in this book. It adds a lot of character and charm.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flip is 5 and his little brother is 2. They like playing together, but one day Flip wants to play with a friend his age, so Flop is sad until he makes a new friend who will play with him. Elliot really enjoyed this one. I think it’s especially great for siblings, who will undoubtedly relate to both brothers.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flip And Flop
Apperley, Dawn

early reader... great show of copy cat and social relations

[Allyson Goose · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids could relate to the characters. Love the way the little sibling solved the problem of feeling left out.

[melhara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute picture book about two penguin brothers, Flip and Flop. As is usually the case with siblings, Flip became bored of playing with Flop and left Flop to play on his own while he went off to play with Hip. Thankfully, Hip has a brother called Hop who befriends Flop. By the end, Flip, Flop, Hip, and Hop become good friends.

Although the names were kind of fun, it was also a bit confusing when it came to figuring out who was who...

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Part of a personal challenge to read all of my boyfriend's and his sister's childhood books before we donate and give them away.

[Charlotte S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flip and Flop, two lovable brothers do practically everything together. In fact, whatever Flip does, Flop does too. But sometimes Flip wants to play with other friends. Flop is very sad when Flip does not play with him. Their favorite game, boomba, is no fun when you're alone. But Flop might just have met another very good friend. Join Flop as he makes a new friend in the snow!

I've loved this book since I was little --it's great for winter! The illustrations are so cute!

Follow @bronteandwilder on Instagram for fun book recommendations!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story, about two brothers who love to play games. Sometimes, the older brother wants to play with his own friend instead of playing with his brother. Later, the little brother makes his own friend and they all play together. The story became confusing when they introduced Hip and Hop. This story is very relatable for young children who have siblings. This would also, be great for a child who loves animals.

[Chandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

What made this book more memorable than the other holiday fare in the Scholastic preschool stack was the central conflict. Little kids get annoying siblings. Reading about their frustration is more fun that sugary holiday confections masquerading as books. Though...the tradition of stupid names continues. Alongside "Flip" and "Flop" you'll meet "Hip," "Hop," and..."Boomba".

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because I connected to it on a personal level. My sister was always playing with her older friends so I had to find my own friends. I could use this book as a window (those with no siblings) or a mirror (those with younger or older siblings).

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, but a little confusing. The kids had to keep asking me which characters were Flip and Flop, and which were Hip and Hop. Still, I enjoyed the story and the artwork. It depicts two pretty typical sibling relationships, and resolves their conflicts nicely. 4/5 stars.

[Jenna Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatable story of penguin brothers who are at different interests and abilities and naturally the eldest finds the little one annoying and wants to play with friend his own age. Thankfully they find a sibling pair who match up perfectly with each of them for play.

[Leslie Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book. Now she goes around the house playing boomba. I found it rather cute myself, too.

[Jessica Velasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story I would say best for younger grades, could be used to talk about always doing your best.

[Rachael Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great -ed words, repetitive patterns. How to deal with friends who don't want to play the game we want to.

[Desiree · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are adorable. The story is just so-so. Based just off the story, I'd give it two stars.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good book

[Jeani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatable story about siblings and friendship.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations.

[TCNS]

2 copies available. One filed under "Polar" and one filed under "Apperley."

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flip and Flop by Dawn Apperley tells the story of sibling penguins who are tired of playing with each other and the new friends they each make. The basic theme of learning the balance between family time and personal time is a good one but the book could have better.

The problem lies with who the new friends are: a pair of polar bear cubs. The few times I've read this book with my children, they both complain (rightly so) that polar bears live in the north and penguins live in the south. I know it's a work of fiction and Apperley isn't the only one to mix the two species together (Coca Cola) but there's no reason why the other friends couldn't have also been penguins. They could have been a different species or different colors.

If you can get past the polar bears, the story itself is a fun tongue twister with similar difficulty as Fox in Socks or Hop on Pop (both by Dr. Seuss). It gets harder with the introduction of the two bears: Hip and Hop. I just wish they weren't bears.

[Elizabeth Woodruff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so cute! It was written and illustrated by Dawn Apperly. It is about two penguin brothers, Flip and Flop. They play together all the time and enjoy each others company. Flip is three years older than Flop and sometimes likes to play with a friend his age. Flop gets sad whenever Flip doesn't want to play with him. Flop wanders off and finds himself a friend to play with. After a while flop and hop(his bear friend) head home. They see their older brothers, Flip and Hip, sitting and looking sad. They all decide then to play a game together!

I really enjoyed this book! I have a sister that is three years older than me so I could relate to this book. Flip and Flop is very simply written and easy to read so you could give this to kindergarteners to read.

You could use this book to talk about friendship while also touching on siblings and family. I highly recommend this book!

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would never have given this cute little book a second glance if I hadn't been looking for stories to use in a "winter" themed story time. As it turns out, this was just the ticket! Our mixed group of babies, toddlers, and pre-school aged children were captivated by this story of an older brother and baby brother playing together in the snow. A Combination of sparse text, clear illustrations, fun words, and familiar daily drama drew their rapt attention.

"Wheeeeee!" "Look at me!" "I can stand on one leg!" (okay, everybody up-- let's stand on one leg, too.)

Their FAVORITE part of the story was the game of "Boomba" the penguins played.

Warning: Children are sure to make up their own "boomba" snow game!

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flip and Flop are brothers, and they love each other. But sometimes Flip gets tired of his little brother tagging along and wants to play with his friends. Flop gets sad all by himself until he makes a friend of his own.

The illustrations in this are really cute. (Ok, I'm partial to penguins anyway.) The story is one kids with siblings will readily relate to. I would hesitate to read this aloud to a class though because one of the games the penguins play involves bouncing on their bottoms and the repetition of this phrase will likely result in giggles in a class setting that might be hard to keep under control.

[Gabriel Wallis · Rating 2 out of 5]

My 16-month old daughter brought me this book the other day, wanting me to read it to her. She crawled into my lap while I read the book to her. Personally, I wasn't too impressed with the book. It was okay. But my daughter was captivated. The illustrations were simple enough for her to grasp, and there were a lot of names that she wanted to repeat... Flip, Flop, Hip, Hop. And there were words she had to try out... boomba, slip-slide. When we finished, my daughter and I had a little tug-of-war with the book, and the back cover got ripped off! Oh well. We had fun. So, I was wondering when do penguins play with polar bears? Sounds dangerous to me. :)

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a a good book for younger readers who have older siblings. These penguin brothers play together, but the older one gets bored of his little brother and wants to go play with his friend. At first the little brother penguin is sad then he meets a baby polar bear his own age and they begin to play and have fun. In the end the older brother misses his younger brother and he ends up playing with him, his friends and his little brothers friend and they all invent a game together and everyone is happy.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming book about friendships and baby siblings. Two brother penguins enjoy playing with one another but older brother gets tired and wants to play with his friend polar bear. So baby brother wanders off crying until he finds another friend his age. They find they have lots of fun together while their older brothers are being bored. But soon all four decide to play together and have fun. Learning that sometimes older and younger siblings can be annoying but always love one another.