Penguin Pete

Penguin Pete

by Marcus Pfister

Pete the penguin has a good time playing on land with his fellow birds and learning how to swim in the sea.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Birds, Adventure, School

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Marcus Pfister was born in Berne, Switzerland, and began his career as a graphic artist in an advertising agency. In 1983, he decided to dedicate more time to artistic pursuits, and began to write and illustrate his first book, The Sleepy Owl, which was published in 1986. His best-known work to date is The Rainbow Fish, which has remained on bestseller lists across the United States since 1992.

Marcus does most of his illustrations for children's books in watercolors. He begins each book by stretching watercolor paper over a wooden board so that it won't warp when wet. He then copies his rough sketches onto the paper in pencil. At this point, he is ready to begin painting. For backgrounds and blended contours, he uses wet paint on wet paper to get a softer effect. For sharper details, he first lets the paper dry, then paints the final picture layer by layer. When the illustration is complete he cuts the paper from the wooden board.

For books that feature holographic foil stamping, he then tapes a piece of transparent film over the art and indicates with a black marker where the foil stamping should be. The foil stamping is then applied during the production process after the pages are printed and before the final binding.

Marcus and his wife, Kathryn, work together in Berne, where they live with their three children.

Reviews

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part of this picture book was the water paintings. Penguin Pete looks so cute! It almost makes you forget that the story is a bit meandering. But there’s still some meditative imagery in this book, including that moment when Pete dives into the sea and discovers the glorious beautiful underworld.

[Regan Brakebush]

This was cute. I think what I liked best about it was how, even though Pete felt some sadness every now and then, he was resilient and he never let things get him too down. He lost at all the games, but he didn't care - there was so much to enjoy beyond winning. He was sad about his friend leaving, but he enjoyed reminiscing about the times that they spent together. Pete is a very likable character.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up Penguin Pete because I love penguins almost as much as my sister does. Also, the thumbnail image does not do this book justice. The cover has glitter/sparkle, and the expression on Pete's face is just luminous with joy. I couldn't resist!

Then I noticed that it was by Marcus Pfister. Despite my own dislike for The Rainbow Fish, I can't deny that he's a talented and renown author.

But then I got the book home and Joe and I read it and it was kind of confusing and meandering. It's impossible to tell the timeline; does the story take place over the course of one day or one week or one month? And whatever happened to Steve?*

The illustrations were adorable and the ending is moderately satisfying. However, I've never been left with so many questions at the end of a simple picture book. Not necessarily recommended.

*At one point Pete makes fast friends with a visiting migratory bird named Steve. A couple pages later, Steve flies off. There's no good-bye, no hope of return. He's just here and then gone. Why was he even there in the first place? We'll never know...

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is about a penguin that is too small. Very cute book! Pete does not fly. Great book for younger kids. Should go into more detail about penguins inability to fly. It describes that everyone has a unique talent and others peak at different seasons in life.

[Lawrence Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book details a penguin who at first is made fun of because he is smaller than the rest of the penguins, but he finds an unlikely friend in a flying bird. Pete, the small penguin, eventually is able to swim and discovers what he is good at, which is swimming.

[Bridget Neace · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was cute enough, but the plot lacked cohesion.

[Amy Wasson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! I like the watercolor paintings!

[Laura Aldridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute idea. But disjointed execution. The middle part while good didn’t seem to fit with the beginning and the end.

[Olivia Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to young children! It tells a nice story that highlights personal strengths, friendship, differences, and adventure. The water color pictures are beautiful!

[Conquering · Rating 3 out of 5]

We use this book in our Antarctica continent box with our penguin study. It introduces the concept that penguins don't fly.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with a great lesson. Lovely illustrations!

[Amy (Lost in a Good Book) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Pfiser’s other creation, the Rainbow Fish, Penguin Pete has a range of adventures and friends to meet in other books, but this is our first introduction. Pete is the smallest of his friends and wishes to go swimming in the sea. While he waits he plays with his friends, and meets a new friend who can fly. Steve the bird plays with Pete and they become friends until it is time for him to move on.

It is a nice story but there isn’t much too it, despite it being a tad wordy. There could be a lot more depth, this was written early in Pfiser's career and long before The Rainbow Fish so maybe he just needed to find his groove, but I felt this lacked a bit in plot. Not much really happens, and it just explains events that don’t really feel connected. Just when you think Pete’s problems might have a moment of growth it fizzles out and we move on to the next thing.

I didn’t need there to be an overarching lesson or plot, but it did feel disjointed, like the events had little to do with one another, especially since you get the sense that Pfiser is building up to something as you read. Knowing the kind of writer Pfiser turns into, it feels wrong to judge something he wrote so early n his career. It was enjoyable, I think maybe I expected more that's all. Nevertheless it is a cute little story and a good introduction to Penguin Pete.

This review was published on my blog Lost in a Good Book

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penguin Pete, written by Marcus Pfister tells the story of a little penguin named Pete who is learning to fit in. Pete was a small penguin who would get made fun of because of his size. Pete wanted to be like the other penguins and swim in the sea. Pete met a bird named Steve. Steve was trying to teach Pete to fly, but Pete’s a penguin and he cannot fly. Marcus Pfister uses easy vocabulary so that children can read this book on their own. Marcus also teaches children about what life is like as a penguin. The illustrations help children relate to and follow the story with ease. Illustrations in children’s books make stories more enjoyable and help children recognize different shapes and objects. This book is perfect for children 4 to 8 years of age.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

The eyes of the Penguins in this book make me laugh. The illustrations are fun. The text content per page is about 4-10 lines per page. Some pages with more lines can overwhelm under-confident readers. The book has many lines of dialogue.

The friendship developed between Pete and Steve is nice because it fosters making friends with people who might be different than you. The book also might be a good book for a child dealing with a friend moving away but it's not specifically geared for that.

The book lacks a real plot Steve moves away and there is some what I thought was foreshadowing that he might visit later but that never happens and the book ends abruptly without a resolution. It's almost like the writer just gave up so It's getting a low rating from me.

[Daniel Barrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story includes common childhood experiences like not being old enough or big enough to participate in activities, not being able to do things that other people can do, and dealing with disappointment and sadness by distracting yourself with something else fun. The main character is able to keep a positive attitude and have fun despite these obstacles.

Unfortunately, the book isn't very interesting as a story and the pictures aren't attractive.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a penguin who wants to grow up very quickly but, of course, can’t. He tries to keep himself occupied on land by skating and spinning, and one day he meets a bird and tries to fly. When that doesn’t work, his mother decides that the next day he can go into the sea for the first time. I thought the images were lovely but the book wasn’t very interesting.

[Jade Detzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is about a small penguin, Pete, trying to and grow up and do everything the other penguins do. He meets a friend and then his friend has to leave. Pete is eventually able to go out on the ice with all the other big penguins. This story's plot wasn't very connected. This book might be used to help a student dealing with trying to fit in.

[Brent Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is about a small penguin named, Pete. He's trying to grow up and do everything the other penguins do. He meets a friend and then his friend has to leave. Pete is eventually able to go out on the ice with all the other big penguins. This book may be used to help a student dealing with trying to fit in.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay, I will try reading it again and seeing if they like it better. I think there are better books in this series about Pedro. We read this on the same day as "Pinguino," by Polly Dunbar, which the kids loved.

[Crissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love Penguins around here so running across a penguin book that we can share was a plus.
Poor Pete is such a little guy and doesn't feel that he fits in. We watch him amuse himself and finally get to move to big penguin activities.

[Rebecca RDG 3320 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a funny book. It is a nice addition to read when learning about Penguins and you could do a KWL chart to get thoughts going. All of these books are cute.

[Melanie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute book by Marcus Pfister- same writer as Rainbow Fish

[Katie Murray]

Well, lets see. I don't remember this book and i've never read it. But now I intend on it because I love penguins!! And ice skating penguins will just make anyone smile.

[Courtney Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book teaches that you can do anything no matter who you are

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the penguin and his personality, the soft "snugged" illustrations are lovely, but the plot is all muddled up and I'm not sure what the point is.

[Chantae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a penguin growing up, meeting a new friend, and dealing with that friend having to leave.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about a little penguin who is too small.

He tries to be different but learns to accept who he is.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming!!!

[Hillary Hayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorbale story of a small penguin trying to fit in.

[Sohail Majid]

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