Fluff and Billy

by Nicola Killen

“I'm climbing up!” said Fluff.
“I'm climbing up!” said Billy.
“I'm sliding down!” said Fluff.
“I'm sliding down!” said Billy. Meet Fluff and Billy, two of the most irresistible, adorable penguins ever. They're best friends, and whatever Fluff does, little Billy does climb, slide, swim, splash, run, and jump. Together, they have fun in their enchanting polar world--until something happens that rocks their friendship.Children--and parents too--will instantly recognize and relate to this familiar situation, and rejoice in how the penguin pals resolve their conflict.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Kids, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for penguins. The art was fine, but the text was only "meh". If I had to read it more than once to some small one, I'd probably start getting stabby.

Library copy

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fluff and Billy are two penguins that are the best of friends, but give each other the silent treatment after a snowball fight. Text makes for a great read aloud, especially with audience participation. Because the text is full of activities, this would be a great book for sharing with the toddlers as well as the preschoolers. Illustrations look like watercolor paintings and make interesting use of the white space.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fluff and Billy are adorable best friends.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations steal the show in this tale of two best friend penguins.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story that mimics the dynamics of early childhood friendships.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

My boyfriend and I read this together and we were both disappointed in this story. We love penguins and absolutely loved the illustrations, but the story was terrible. Each penguin would just repeat what the other had said or phrase it differently, but still saying basically the same thing. We would have liked it better if the other penguin would say something else and for the book to have more of a concrete story. I guess we were expecting some cute story without lots of repetition since the illustrations were adorable.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written and illustrated text. The storytelling is simple, engaging and fun. It’s a wonderful story of adventure and perfect for sharing with little ones. I read it to my baby after a morning breastfeed and love seeing her respond to the intensity of the yellow pages vs the blue. We try and copy some of activities the penguins do in the story (climbing, splashing, tickling etc), lots of fun!

[Dorthe Svendsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elsker all repetisjon disse bøkene har. Ser for meg en dialog i klasseommet, en form for ekko. Den er ekstra god på verb, så ta den frem når elvene skal ha aktiviter på timeplan. Den er veldig enkel å fortsette på, så det å oppforde elevene til å lage flere sider, så kan vi lage klassens aktivitetbok på engelsk, ville vært kult!!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fluff and Billy are friends who do everything alike. Cute book.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple story about two penguins playing, getting upset with each other, and making up. Since it ends with tickles, this would be a good book for a baby lap sit storytime.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another instance where I'd really like to be able to give half stars. 3.5 - bumped up to 4 because the illustrations are adorable.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book with beautiful illustrations about copying, falling out and making up with each other.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet for toddlers, a bit boring for the adult.

[Madeline Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fluff and Billy is a beautiful picture book perfect for young readers. The story focus on two best friends, Fluff and Billy, and all the fun things they do together. The book is a series of dialogue back and fourth between the friends, always with Billy repeating what Fluff has said. For example, the book begins with "I'm climbing up!" said Fluff and Billy responds "I'm climbing up!" Each page follows this format until, Billy responds that instead of rolling a snowball, he is throwing a snowball right at Fluff! Fluff becomes upset and decides he's not talking to Billy...that is until Fluff begins to tickle Billy's tummy, and the friends begin to play together again. The words in the book are truly integrated into the illustrations. Not only are they written in what seems like water color, they often appear within the scene of Fluff and Billy playing.

Because of the dialogue set up and back and fourth repetition of phrases, I see this book as a perfect shared reading between two students who can read it independently, or between a teacher and student who many need assistance reading. The teacher could model how the dialogue is repeated on the first few pages in the book, and when the student picks up on the patters, he can jump in and take on the speaking role of either Fluff or Billy. It could also be a good book to share as a read aloud with any group of students to demonstrate how even the best of friends some times become upset with each other and need to work it out.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of two penguins that remind me of the children that I teach, one doing what the other does and getting along happily until one doesn't want to do what the other does and it creates a wedge in the friendship. Of course, maintaining the wedge turns out to be more trouble than it's worth after only a few minutes, and before you know it, they're back to their old ways, none the worse for wear. It's simple, but in that regard it reflects children's friendships. As someone who spends countless hours observing and sometimes being forced to mediate seemingly trivial matters that briefly ruin friendships among the very young, I see this all the time. Well done. The book is great for a younger audience.

[Fjóla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often have somewhat limited tolerance for repetition, but here it's used to demonstrate how the penguins in the story copy each other for everything (just like good friends do!) In fact it's adorable, and many of their antics are laugh out loud funny, such as when Billy jumps out of the book only to land on his head on the next page spread. I was impressed by the illustrations, they're fresh and sober, but really cute (or, how can two penguins not be cute). It's a good book about friendship, and getting along ...

[Diane Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book about two penguins, where the little one likes to imitate the older one. The back cover says best friends, but it looks like 2 brothers to me. Lots of repetition which is good for this age group. The story wraps one good note. Why only 3? Just didn't do much for me. Even though this is the type of book I would use for a story time, I would skip it because I don't think I could sell it.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book about friendship and forgiveness. Fluff and Billy do everything together and have such a good time. But as frequently happens, playing leads to a problem and then the two are angry at each other. Will they stay mad for good? Beautiful watercolor illustrations are very heartwarming and support the story well.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toddler friendly or preschool storytime; themes- penguins,friendship,feelings

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two little penguins playing together. Lots of action words repeating for both of them.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't love it, but would put it in the friendship tub anyway. Good for partner reading, building fluency, and using picture clues.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, sweet, and accurate representation of friendship.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Booo....

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, probably really deserves only two stars...but there's penguins. So, you know.

[Robin]

A cute book about two penguin friends playing, fighting, and making up. Also covers some opposites.

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

pictures are beautiful, plot is a little too simple

[Andy Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year old lad LOVED this book. We read it 8 times last night. Simple story, pretty pictures, and a good tickle at the end.

[Zayneea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story is quite repetitive, but still very cute and amusing.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

About playing, fighting and making up.

[Wendy Kuzma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice story about friendship and forgiveness.