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The Penguins of Doom
"Dear Reader, In order to make this book I had to escape from a mad scientist, adopt a trio of wild penguins, become an Olympic freestyle skateboarder, collect a whole bunch of empty yogurt containers, and find my missing tripletsister. In order to enjoy it, all you have to do is read every page. Thanks for doing your part!" Sincerely, Septina Nash, Main Character
182 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2007
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Greg R. Fishbone
5 books39 followersGreg R. Fishbone is an author of science fiction and mythic fantasy for young readers. His works include a contemporary fantasy from Blooming Tree Press and the critically acclaimed Galaxy Games series from Lee & Low Books and Spellbound River Press. He is the founder and author-in-residence at Mythoversal, which is bringing equity, inclusion, and diversity to classical texts.
From 2001 to 2018, Greg served as Assistant Regional Advisor for the New England regions of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He has presented workshops on a variety of craft and career development topics and has co-directed regional conferences for SCBWI in New England.
Greg was president of the groundbreaking "Class of 2k7" group of debut authors and mentored several follow-up author groups.
For more information, visit his website at http://gfishbone.com
From 2001 to 2018, Greg served as Assistant Regional Advisor for the New England regions of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He has presented workshops on a variety of craft and career development topics and has co-directed regional conferences for SCBWI in New England.
Greg was president of the groundbreaking "Class of 2k7" group of debut authors and mentored several follow-up author groups.
For more information, visit his website at http://gfishbone.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 5, 2017
This book was so funny, and awesome to read! There was a huge plot twist at the end, and it was not how I thought the book was going to turn out. I heard about this book from a friend, and I am glad I read it. Septina was so worried about her sister, and the letters and notes she writes to her teachers are very interesting. I enjoyed this book so much, and the author (Greg R. Fishbone) has a very captivating writing style, and he makes his books suitable for younger kids.
This book started out kind of boring, and I thought nothing would happen. Then as things started to unfold, and Septina started sending letters to her teachers, I was slowly getting more and more intrigued by the story line. Her excuse notes to get out of gym were so funny, and her mom turned out to be a professional skater... WHAT? Eventually they found Sexta, and she was the one who left, she wasn't kidnapped.
This book was so interesting, and I want to read more books by this author.
This book started out kind of boring, and I thought nothing would happen. Then as things started to unfold, and Septina started sending letters to her teachers, I was slowly getting more and more intrigued by the story line. Her excuse notes to get out of gym were so funny, and her mom turned out to be a professional skater... WHAT? Eventually they found Sexta, and she was the one who left, she wasn't kidnapped.
This book was so interesting, and I want to read more books by this author.
May 5, 2017
The Penguins of Doom is about a girl named Septina who has to constantly write excuses to her teachers and principals. She lives an abnormal life as the seventh child in her family. Family history of sevens and threes results in these abnormal occurrences. Septina is also worried about her missing sister, Sexta. When trying to find Sexta, Septina finds penguins, celebrities, and even a nemesis. In the end, she finds the Ice Queen, who later turns out to be Sexta.
I thought this was a very funny book that kept me entertained. It also had small images that helped visualize everything, and it also describes the characters well. This book also made it easy to complete my reading goal. Fishbone did a good job of adding in characters to make the book more interesting, and I loved the plot twist at the end!
I thought this was a very funny book that kept me entertained. It also had small images that helped visualize everything, and it also describes the characters well. This book also made it easy to complete my reading goal. Fishbone did a good job of adding in characters to make the book more interesting, and I loved the plot twist at the end!
November 10, 2012
Reviewed by Natalie Tsang for TeensReadToo.com
Greg R. Fishbone's THE PENGUINS OF DOOM is a wacky, zany trip.
It's a series of letters by Septina Nash, our purple haired protagonist, as she tries to find her missing triplet sister, Sexta.
At first glance, Septina just seems to have an over-reactive imagination. In her letters to the Vice Principal, math teacher, gym teacher, school counselor, and Lieutenant Donna Morse, she describes her adventures of being an extra in music videos, becoming an Olympic freestyle skateboarder, stalker penguins, and having a mortal enemy named Doctor Fignizzi.
But low and behold, when her triplet brother starts backing up her story, we start to wonder if she really is telling the truth. Each reader will have to decide if Septina is a fibber of epic proportions or if she is just endowed with magical experiences. With helpful illustrations, Septina describes her extraordinary life in hilarious terms.
Remember, every number in the world can be made by a combination of 7s and 3s (1=7-3-3, 2=3x3-7, etc), and since Septina is both a seventh child and triplet, that means she can do anything!
Told in a cheerful and unique voice, this is a fun, quick read!
Greg R. Fishbone's THE PENGUINS OF DOOM is a wacky, zany trip.
It's a series of letters by Septina Nash, our purple haired protagonist, as she tries to find her missing triplet sister, Sexta.
At first glance, Septina just seems to have an over-reactive imagination. In her letters to the Vice Principal, math teacher, gym teacher, school counselor, and Lieutenant Donna Morse, she describes her adventures of being an extra in music videos, becoming an Olympic freestyle skateboarder, stalker penguins, and having a mortal enemy named Doctor Fignizzi.
But low and behold, when her triplet brother starts backing up her story, we start to wonder if she really is telling the truth. Each reader will have to decide if Septina is a fibber of epic proportions or if she is just endowed with magical experiences. With helpful illustrations, Septina describes her extraordinary life in hilarious terms.
Remember, every number in the world can be made by a combination of 7s and 3s (1=7-3-3, 2=3x3-7, etc), and since Septina is both a seventh child and triplet, that means she can do anything!
Told in a cheerful and unique voice, this is a fun, quick read!
February 17, 2012
Septina Nash's sister, Sexta, is missing, and Septina is willing to face mad scientists, ninjas, the need to learn skateboarding, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, penguins, and much more in order to find her--if only her teachers would understand! Subtitled 'from the Desk of Septina Nash,' this epistolary book is a long series of letters that either describe a real, weird, zany adventure, or show just how far one grade-school girl will go to explain why her homework isn't done and she had to skip certain classes.
That this works at all is a tribute to Greg Fishbone's ability to write a central character at once relentlessly likeable and so committed to her way of seeing the world that nothing will stand in her way. It's appeal isn't quite so broad as that of his Galaxy Games--it's bright, high-speed whimsy is more suited to tweens than teens or adults. (Though there were some bits that cracked this 42-year-old up, nonetheless.) That said, it's a great fantasy book for that age group--I'm planning on getting a copy for my niece when she's a bit older.
That this works at all is a tribute to Greg Fishbone's ability to write a central character at once relentlessly likeable and so committed to her way of seeing the world that nothing will stand in her way. It's appeal isn't quite so broad as that of his Galaxy Games--it's bright, high-speed whimsy is more suited to tweens than teens or adults. (Though there were some bits that cracked this 42-year-old up, nonetheless.) That said, it's a great fantasy book for that age group--I'm planning on getting a copy for my niece when she's a bit older.
November 21, 2007
Oddly, strangely, weirdly, unexpected but fun.
May 2, 2017
One thing that I don't think a lot of people, writers and readers, appreciate is that children's fiction operates on basically the same rules as fiction for older readers. Don't get me wrong, it has its own quirks, its own needs; there are things you have to emphasize so miniature humans with little life experience will get them, and things you need to break up and make easier to process. But the underlying structures of storytelling, what, fundamentally, works and what doesn't, is basically the same.
And I don't think this book gets that.
The problem with From the Desk of Septina Nash: The Penguins of Doom is, basically, that it's trying way too hard to be Wacky Goofy Fun Times; so much so that it really comes out as not much fun at all. Characters have weird obsessions that are clearly supposed to thematic, but result in weird scenes that don't really connect to anything; every chapter is a letter from the titular character, but we can never tell how reliable or unreliable of a narrator she is; the dialogue keeps throwing in things that are obviously supposed to be kid-appeal but come out wrong (Septina keeps referring to her "triplet-sister" and "triplet-brother" and I'm pretty sure that no multiple-birth kid has ever used those words, c'mon) - it's a mess.
Now, I've read other stories by this writer - ones written just for fun, ones that weren't trying so desperately to fit a certain mold. And, well, they're actually fun times! And when the story manages to chill out a bit, it manages to hit that state, of a story that breezily rolls through weird adventure, where the humor comes out of the story instead of a sign pushed into your face that reads "Joke! Laugh, plz?"
And I don't think this book gets that.
The problem with From the Desk of Septina Nash: The Penguins of Doom is, basically, that it's trying way too hard to be Wacky Goofy Fun Times; so much so that it really comes out as not much fun at all. Characters have weird obsessions that are clearly supposed to thematic, but result in weird scenes that don't really connect to anything; every chapter is a letter from the titular character, but we can never tell how reliable or unreliable of a narrator she is; the dialogue keeps throwing in things that are obviously supposed to be kid-appeal but come out wrong (Septina keeps referring to her "triplet-sister" and "triplet-brother" and I'm pretty sure that no multiple-birth kid has ever used those words, c'mon) - it's a mess.
Now, I've read other stories by this writer - ones written just for fun, ones that weren't trying so desperately to fit a certain mold. And, well, they're actually fun times! And when the story manages to chill out a bit, it manages to hit that state, of a story that breezily rolls through weird adventure, where the humor comes out of the story instead of a sign pushed into your face that reads "Joke! Laugh, plz?"
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews