What do you think?
Rate this book
The Penguin Book of Penguins: An Expert’s Guide to the World’s Most Beloved Bird
A charming and beautifully illustrated book about the world’s most beloved bird, written by Peter Fretwell, a leading scientist at The British Antarctic Survey, and illustrated by Lisa Fretwell.
There’s something about penguins that makes them irresistible. Maybe it’s their comical waddle, their black-and-white ‘tuxedo’ plumage, or their apparent cheerfulness in the face of extreme weather conditions. Whatever the reason, their cult following around the globe is indisputable. Penguins can tell us so much about the world we live in – and what the future of both our species might look like.
In The Penguin Book of Penguins, leading British Antarctic scientist Peter Fretwell introduces us to eighteen charismatic species of penguin and the fascinating lives they their evolution, behaviours and habitats, and their history with humans. From the fact that emperor penguins dive twice as deep as any other bird, to the story of a king penguin called Sir Nils Olav III who was made a Major General by the Norwegian Army, we discover through fascinating first-hand encounters (and even penguin jokes and emojis!) why penguins matter so greatly to all of us.
There’s something about penguins that makes them irresistible. Maybe it’s their comical waddle, their black-and-white ‘tuxedo’ plumage, or their apparent cheerfulness in the face of extreme weather conditions. Whatever the reason, their cult following around the globe is indisputable. Penguins can tell us so much about the world we live in – and what the future of both our species might look like.
In The Penguin Book of Penguins, leading British Antarctic scientist Peter Fretwell introduces us to eighteen charismatic species of penguin and the fascinating lives they their evolution, behaviours and habitats, and their history with humans. From the fact that emperor penguins dive twice as deep as any other bird, to the story of a king penguin called Sir Nils Olav III who was made a Major General by the Norwegian Army, we discover through fascinating first-hand encounters (and even penguin jokes and emojis!) why penguins matter so greatly to all of us.
- GenresNonfiction
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2025
29 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 16, 2025
very interesting book about penguins looking at the different types and what the future holds for his sea faring bird.
September 26, 2025
It feels so fitting that there is now a Penguin Book of Penguins!
It’s a fascinating introductory book for penguin lovers everywhere; exploring the different species of penguins, their amazing and sometimes strange adaptations to their harsh environments, our relationship with them, and the threats they face – mostly because of us. If you enjoyed Fifty Words for Snow, this one’s for you.
I love the snazzy cover design that invokes design elements reminiscent of vintage Penguin books. This, along with the lovely endpapers of comedic penguins and Lisa Fretwell’s utterly charming illustrations, would make this perfect as a gift. Worth keeping in mind for your Christmas shopping!
It’s a fascinating introductory book for penguin lovers everywhere; exploring the different species of penguins, their amazing and sometimes strange adaptations to their harsh environments, our relationship with them, and the threats they face – mostly because of us. If you enjoyed Fifty Words for Snow, this one’s for you.
I love the snazzy cover design that invokes design elements reminiscent of vintage Penguin books. This, along with the lovely endpapers of comedic penguins and Lisa Fretwell’s utterly charming illustrations, would make this perfect as a gift. Worth keeping in mind for your Christmas shopping!
January 5, 2026
Highly informative, beautifully illustrated, all in all very delightful. Even if there are quite a few gruesome and dark stories in it, for instance about penguin exploitation by humans. Looking at you, "penguin digester", a horrid machine which was employed in the late 19th century on a remote island south of Tasmania to boil down penguins for oil. Jfc.
Still, a fine tribute to a magnificent, diverse bird species, which today fights for its survival, due to... ah yes, climate change and environmental pollution, at the hands of... ah yes, us, humans. Let's do better for those little fellows. Plus: there's a couple of penguin dad jokes in this one. I do approve this very much.
----
There is something about penguins. They are certainly one of the most charismatic of all animals, adored and appreciated by almost everyone. But it is hard to put your finger on exactly what it is that gives them this elevated status. Maybe it is their comical waddle, or the fact that their upright gait makes it easy to compare them to humans. Their clumsy manner on land, social habits and friendly nature endear and fascinate us. We love to anthropomorphize them, often comparing them to old men or waiters wearing a smart suit. Black and white, sharply dressed and unique, their appearance makes them instantly recognizable.
----
There is some evidence that the emperor penguins eyesight on land is not as well developed as humans'. In Antarctica, at British Antarctic Survey's Halley Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf, they often have a particular problem with emperor penguins.
The nearest emperor-penguin colony is located near the coastal resupply site 20 km away. Each year, the station staff set up a line of oil drums from the ice edge back to the research station, marking the route for resupply. When the ship docks at the ice edge, tractors and snowcat vehicles tow fuel and vital supplies across the featureless ice shelf to the research facility.
What is strange is that almost every year one or two emperor penguins turn up at the base and have to be returned to the colony by skidoo. They follow the drum line that marks the tractor trail. The common theory is that they mistake the distant drums for penguins and waddle over, only realizing their mistake when they get close. Then they see another drum in the distance and waddle over to that.
----
The most disgusting bird you will find around penguins is the sheathbill. This ugly white bird actively feeds on the penguins' excrement, as well as dead chicks and eggs if it can find them. It can often be seen stalking around the edge of the colonies, and is known locally by scientists by the uncomplimentary name of the 'shit chicken'.
----
Some other species such as emperors and Adélies do have an extra trick up their sleeve that makes them just as fast as a gentoo over a short distance and gives them an edge in escaping predators. They use jet propulsion.
These birds trap air in between their feathers and when they need that extra boost of speed they squeeze their feathers together, pushing the air out as a jet of bubbles. Like a nitro-boost on a sports car, the sudden thrust and change in viscosity around the body of the penguin gives it an extra turn of speed, which is extremely useful if you need to escape from a hungry orca or leopard seal, or even to jump up on to the sea ice.
This exit leap out of the water is often what the bubble jet is used for, as emperor and Adélie penguins need to launch from the sea on to the sea ice, the surface of which is often a metre or two above the level of the ocean. The supercharged jet of bubbles, squeezed out of their feathers, enables them to almost double their velocity to well over 35 kilometres per hour to fly out of the water by up to 3 m so that they can land safely on the ice.
----
One overwintering cook, Gerald T. Cutland, working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the forerunner of the British Antarctic Survey, made a record of his recipes, which were later published as a cookbook, "Fit for a 'FID' or how to keep a fat explorer in prime condition". He devoted a whole chapter to the cooking of penguins, although it is fair to say that he did not enjoy the thought of cooking them.
He said that he imagined that they were just like small, inquisitive people in black-and-white coats and was worried that he would have nightmares about killing them. Neither did he eat them himself, although it appears that his colleagues on the base developed a taste for his gourmet recipes of penguin meat and other local delicacies, so that he ended up cooking wildlife several times a week.
----
Edinburgh Zoo is credited with having the first live penguins when, in 1913, a whaling ship, travelling back from the Southern Ocean on its way to Norway, docked at Edinburgh and gave three live king penguins to the newly built zoo. The birds were thought to be the first penguins on public view anywhere in the world. Edinburgh Zoo still has an association with penguins and has kept a number of king penguins as an exhibit there ever since.
In a rather bizarre substory, one of their kings has become famous as the mascot of the King of Norway's Royal Guard, and this particular military penguin, named Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of Bouvet Island (a small rocky island in the Southern Ocean claimed by Norway), has been knighted and given the rank of Major General by the Norwegian Army.
----
Over the next 8 to 10 weeks, between May and August, the male emperor penguin will protect the egg. This is the period of greatest cold, when the thermometer drops below -50°C and howling hurricane-force winds called katabatics race down from the continental interior in speeds in excess of 161 km an hour, driving the wind chill levels to astronomic extremes.
To conserve warmth the remaining males form a huddle. They pack as close together as they can, backs to the wind, heads down, letting those amazing feathers do their job. Scientists have used sensors to measure the temperature in the centre of those huddles and were astounded to find that they can get as high as 25°C.
This is far too warm for our well-insulated bird; they overheat in the centre, so when the males in the middle get too hot, they move to the edge. Meanwhile, those at the edge with their backs to the wind will be getting cold, so they will barge or wriggle their way towards the centre to warm up. This means that the huddle is continually moving, a boiling mass of penguins, each penguin readjusting to keep the perfect temperature.
As the birds on the windward side tend to get colder faster, they move to the centre more often, so over time the whole huddle slowly meanders downwind. We can see this in the satellite images: large huddles of penguins leaving behind a winding brown snail-trail of poo, depending on the direction of the wind.
----
That is not to say that penguin conservation is a new thing, and not all past endeavours have been successful, or particularly ethical. Probably the first and most controversial penguin conservation effort was when the Norwegian Nature Protection Society introduced several species of penguin into northern Norway, in the hope that they would colonize the fjords and islands. They started with around nine king penguins in 1936, brought back from South Georgia on a whaling ship, and later released around sixty macaroni and African penguins.
The penguins soon disappeared into the ocean, and most of them seemed to have died after only a year or two. Their survival was not helped by the local people, who had not been informed of the experiment. One unfortunate king penguin wandered into a local farm and was killed by the farmer's wife who thought it was a demon.
----
Penguin Jokes
Who is the chief of the emperor penguins?
Julius Freezer.
How do penguins make a decision?
They flipper coin.
Why do penguins carry fish in their beaks?
Because they don't have pockets.
There are lots more, but like the penguin on top of an iceberg said - it's all downhill from here!
Still, a fine tribute to a magnificent, diverse bird species, which today fights for its survival, due to... ah yes, climate change and environmental pollution, at the hands of... ah yes, us, humans. Let's do better for those little fellows. Plus: there's a couple of penguin dad jokes in this one. I do approve this very much.
----
There is something about penguins. They are certainly one of the most charismatic of all animals, adored and appreciated by almost everyone. But it is hard to put your finger on exactly what it is that gives them this elevated status. Maybe it is their comical waddle, or the fact that their upright gait makes it easy to compare them to humans. Their clumsy manner on land, social habits and friendly nature endear and fascinate us. We love to anthropomorphize them, often comparing them to old men or waiters wearing a smart suit. Black and white, sharply dressed and unique, their appearance makes them instantly recognizable.
----
There is some evidence that the emperor penguins eyesight on land is not as well developed as humans'. In Antarctica, at British Antarctic Survey's Halley Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf, they often have a particular problem with emperor penguins.
The nearest emperor-penguin colony is located near the coastal resupply site 20 km away. Each year, the station staff set up a line of oil drums from the ice edge back to the research station, marking the route for resupply. When the ship docks at the ice edge, tractors and snowcat vehicles tow fuel and vital supplies across the featureless ice shelf to the research facility.
What is strange is that almost every year one or two emperor penguins turn up at the base and have to be returned to the colony by skidoo. They follow the drum line that marks the tractor trail. The common theory is that they mistake the distant drums for penguins and waddle over, only realizing their mistake when they get close. Then they see another drum in the distance and waddle over to that.
----
The most disgusting bird you will find around penguins is the sheathbill. This ugly white bird actively feeds on the penguins' excrement, as well as dead chicks and eggs if it can find them. It can often be seen stalking around the edge of the colonies, and is known locally by scientists by the uncomplimentary name of the 'shit chicken'.
----
Some other species such as emperors and Adélies do have an extra trick up their sleeve that makes them just as fast as a gentoo over a short distance and gives them an edge in escaping predators. They use jet propulsion.
These birds trap air in between their feathers and when they need that extra boost of speed they squeeze their feathers together, pushing the air out as a jet of bubbles. Like a nitro-boost on a sports car, the sudden thrust and change in viscosity around the body of the penguin gives it an extra turn of speed, which is extremely useful if you need to escape from a hungry orca or leopard seal, or even to jump up on to the sea ice.
This exit leap out of the water is often what the bubble jet is used for, as emperor and Adélie penguins need to launch from the sea on to the sea ice, the surface of which is often a metre or two above the level of the ocean. The supercharged jet of bubbles, squeezed out of their feathers, enables them to almost double their velocity to well over 35 kilometres per hour to fly out of the water by up to 3 m so that they can land safely on the ice.
----
One overwintering cook, Gerald T. Cutland, working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the forerunner of the British Antarctic Survey, made a record of his recipes, which were later published as a cookbook, "Fit for a 'FID' or how to keep a fat explorer in prime condition". He devoted a whole chapter to the cooking of penguins, although it is fair to say that he did not enjoy the thought of cooking them.
He said that he imagined that they were just like small, inquisitive people in black-and-white coats and was worried that he would have nightmares about killing them. Neither did he eat them himself, although it appears that his colleagues on the base developed a taste for his gourmet recipes of penguin meat and other local delicacies, so that he ended up cooking wildlife several times a week.
----
Edinburgh Zoo is credited with having the first live penguins when, in 1913, a whaling ship, travelling back from the Southern Ocean on its way to Norway, docked at Edinburgh and gave three live king penguins to the newly built zoo. The birds were thought to be the first penguins on public view anywhere in the world. Edinburgh Zoo still has an association with penguins and has kept a number of king penguins as an exhibit there ever since.
In a rather bizarre substory, one of their kings has become famous as the mascot of the King of Norway's Royal Guard, and this particular military penguin, named Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of Bouvet Island (a small rocky island in the Southern Ocean claimed by Norway), has been knighted and given the rank of Major General by the Norwegian Army.
----
Over the next 8 to 10 weeks, between May and August, the male emperor penguin will protect the egg. This is the period of greatest cold, when the thermometer drops below -50°C and howling hurricane-force winds called katabatics race down from the continental interior in speeds in excess of 161 km an hour, driving the wind chill levels to astronomic extremes.
To conserve warmth the remaining males form a huddle. They pack as close together as they can, backs to the wind, heads down, letting those amazing feathers do their job. Scientists have used sensors to measure the temperature in the centre of those huddles and were astounded to find that they can get as high as 25°C.
This is far too warm for our well-insulated bird; they overheat in the centre, so when the males in the middle get too hot, they move to the edge. Meanwhile, those at the edge with their backs to the wind will be getting cold, so they will barge or wriggle their way towards the centre to warm up. This means that the huddle is continually moving, a boiling mass of penguins, each penguin readjusting to keep the perfect temperature.
As the birds on the windward side tend to get colder faster, they move to the centre more often, so over time the whole huddle slowly meanders downwind. We can see this in the satellite images: large huddles of penguins leaving behind a winding brown snail-trail of poo, depending on the direction of the wind.
----
That is not to say that penguin conservation is a new thing, and not all past endeavours have been successful, or particularly ethical. Probably the first and most controversial penguin conservation effort was when the Norwegian Nature Protection Society introduced several species of penguin into northern Norway, in the hope that they would colonize the fjords and islands. They started with around nine king penguins in 1936, brought back from South Georgia on a whaling ship, and later released around sixty macaroni and African penguins.
The penguins soon disappeared into the ocean, and most of them seemed to have died after only a year or two. Their survival was not helped by the local people, who had not been informed of the experiment. One unfortunate king penguin wandered into a local farm and was killed by the farmer's wife who thought it was a demon.
----
Penguin Jokes
Who is the chief of the emperor penguins?
Julius Freezer.
How do penguins make a decision?
They flipper coin.
Why do penguins carry fish in their beaks?
Because they don't have pockets.
There are lots more, but like the penguin on top of an iceberg said - it's all downhill from here!
October 20, 2025
Interesting facts, but badly written and poorly structured. A good example when a skillful editor would be needed.
September 13, 2025
What a lovely book. I can’t explain why I like penguins so much but I really do and I’m clearly not alone. I’ve travelled quite widely and seen penguins in their natural habitats at Boulders Beach, South Africa, Phillip Island, Australia, Antarctica, Falklands Islands and Patagonia. A wonderful experience each and every one of them. After reading this book New Zealand has shot to the top of my holiday list. So many different species there.
Briefly, this is not just a dry book full of facts and figures, there is lots of interesting and amusing information from penguin jokes to how to say penguin in different languages, alongside a history of Penguin Books - happy 90th birthday to them!
If you are reading this on social media my little video/reel shows just a few of the many penguin photographs I’ve taken on my holidays. I hope you enjoy them. Sadly it’s not all cuddly lovely news with some species on the endangered list and one critically endangered. Humans have a lot to answer for. I loved this book, easy to read, entertaining and gorgeous illustrations.
Briefly, this is not just a dry book full of facts and figures, there is lots of interesting and amusing information from penguin jokes to how to say penguin in different languages, alongside a history of Penguin Books - happy 90th birthday to them!
If you are reading this on social media my little video/reel shows just a few of the many penguin photographs I’ve taken on my holidays. I hope you enjoy them. Sadly it’s not all cuddly lovely news with some species on the endangered list and one critically endangered. Humans have a lot to answer for. I loved this book, easy to read, entertaining and gorgeous illustrations.
October 4, 2025
"As a scientist you are not really supposed to have a favourite species, even a favourite type of animal. So I must be a bad scientist, because I really like penguins!"
Self-deprecation aside, Peter Fretwell's entertaining scientific and cultural history of penguins (accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Lisa Fretwell) celebrates the flightless birds of the Antarctic, from genuinely surprising details about their biology to a study of how they've interacted with and inspired humans. In this book there is perhaps more technical detail about the different breeds of penguin than I'd initially expected, but THE PENGUIN BOOK OF PENGUINS is a wonderful account of a deservedly lovable species.
That being said, I found myself morbidly amused by some of the horrifying historical details in this book, including the development of a machine designed to extract oil from dead penguins that yielded "a pint per penguin" and the Australian Antarctic program's upsettingly hilarious advice that, to hunt penguins for meat, one should kill them by sitting on them until they suffocate.
Self-deprecation aside, Peter Fretwell's entertaining scientific and cultural history of penguins (accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Lisa Fretwell) celebrates the flightless birds of the Antarctic, from genuinely surprising details about their biology to a study of how they've interacted with and inspired humans. In this book there is perhaps more technical detail about the different breeds of penguin than I'd initially expected, but THE PENGUIN BOOK OF PENGUINS is a wonderful account of a deservedly lovable species.
That being said, I found myself morbidly amused by some of the horrifying historical details in this book, including the development of a machine designed to extract oil from dead penguins that yielded "a pint per penguin" and the Australian Antarctic program's upsettingly hilarious advice that, to hunt penguins for meat, one should kill them by sitting on them until they suffocate.
September 14, 2025
What an absolutely charming, interesting and informative book on these lovable flightless birds.
It's as comprehensive guide covering evolution, behaviour and species types, among other subjects.
Throughout there are lots of beautiful illustrations, covering all aspects of these wonderful birds, and many interesting maps to illustrate the areas around the world in which they live.
For me, it's a dippy in type of book, rather than one to read from start to finish, more of a reference type of book. But that's more down to me only having a somewhat fleeting interest in Penguins. No reason at all that you couldn't read from cover to cover if you so wished.
Very enjoyable.
5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
It's as comprehensive guide covering evolution, behaviour and species types, among other subjects.
Throughout there are lots of beautiful illustrations, covering all aspects of these wonderful birds, and many interesting maps to illustrate the areas around the world in which they live.
For me, it's a dippy in type of book, rather than one to read from start to finish, more of a reference type of book. But that's more down to me only having a somewhat fleeting interest in Penguins. No reason at all that you couldn't read from cover to cover if you so wished.
Very enjoyable.
5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
December 31, 2025
This is a really lovely little book, a fast read but amazingly comprehensive. It is an excellent pocket guide, for lack of a better term, to penguins. The illustrations are beautiful. This book was clearly written and illustrated with love. I enjoyed it and highly recommend it to all penguin enthusiasts.
January 7, 2026
This is such an interesting and thought-provoking read. I learnt so much about penguins and their plight and it's genuinely inspired me to consider what more I can do in the fight against global warming to protect these precious birds
December 3, 2025
adorable and beautiful illustrations
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews