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Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems
To keep myself up off the ice,
I find my father's feet are nice.
I snuggle in his belly fluff,
And that's how I stay warm enough. In wild and wacky rhymes, Emperor penguins describe their world--how they hatch, dive, swim, and survive. Antarctic Antics was made in a musical animated short with music by the Mavericks. The American Library Association chose it for the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medal as the best children's video of 2000 (now available on Amazon Prime Video).
I find my father's feet are nice.
I snuggle in his belly fluff,
And that's how I stay warm enough. In wild and wacky rhymes, Emperor penguins describe their world--how they hatch, dive, swim, and survive. Antarctic Antics was made in a musical animated short with music by the Mavericks. The American Library Association chose it for the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medal as the best children's video of 2000 (now available on Amazon Prime Video).
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
7 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
May 9, 2009
Oh, how I love this book! It is the perfect mix of penguin and poetry. These poems provide a really interesting way to teach kids about rhyming poetry while also teaching content. I love the pictures and enjoyed reading this book. Can't wait to use it in my classroom. I want my own copy! (mine was from the school library)
March 15, 2010
Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems by Judy Sierra is a themed book of penguin poems intended for readers in preschool through grade two. I gave it four stars. This book of poetry is creative and fact-filled and it follows a rhythmic beat and rhyme structure. Each poem teaches the reader about a different aspect of penguins. Poems included “My Father’s Feet,” “Regurgitate,” “Belly Sliding,” and “Penguin’s First Swim.” Readers are able to learn, in a fun way, facts about young and adult penguins and about penguin topics including environment, adaptations, mating, taking care of young, predators, food eaten, mating, and how penguins play and hunt. Penguins are introduced to young readers in a creative and fun way, leaving young readers to want to study and find out more about these Antarctic creatures and how they grow up too!
I was able to “watch” this book on BookFlix, a Scholastic website that pairs fiction and nonfiction books in a variety of categories and allows the reader to watch the books and read along with them as the words are highlighted. The rhythm and rhyme of the poems as they were read and sung aloud really allowed the reader to enjoy hearing stories and facts about penguins. Different music styles accompanied the poems and visuals, with the genres of love ballads, rock and roll, jazz, “surfer” styles, country, and rock anthem are just among a few types of music featured. Truly a fun way to watch and learn about penguins! Hearing the music and seeing the penguins interact and move really let me enjoy their true beauty and unique features! This type of musical, rhythmic, and upbeat presentation of the poems really let me emotionally connect to all different things penguin!
I was able to “watch” this book on BookFlix, a Scholastic website that pairs fiction and nonfiction books in a variety of categories and allows the reader to watch the books and read along with them as the words are highlighted. The rhythm and rhyme of the poems as they were read and sung aloud really allowed the reader to enjoy hearing stories and facts about penguins. Different music styles accompanied the poems and visuals, with the genres of love ballads, rock and roll, jazz, “surfer” styles, country, and rock anthem are just among a few types of music featured. Truly a fun way to watch and learn about penguins! Hearing the music and seeing the penguins interact and move really let me enjoy their true beauty and unique features! This type of musical, rhythmic, and upbeat presentation of the poems really let me emotionally connect to all different things penguin!
December 2, 2019
Oh how fun! Good science, but anthropomorphized enough to appeal to younger kids. It's not as impressive as Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night or other non-fiction + poetry by Joyce Sidman but it's still joyful, appealing, and a great addition to a classroom or home library.
November 4, 2013
A great educational book for your children over the preschool age. My 5 yr old loved it. Lots of good information with beautiful pictures that will help keep children engaged. Went well with our lessons on Antarctica and the life of a penguin. We also watched Happy Feet, the movie to round off the whole lesson. After all that, the facts so apparent in this wonderful poems will really stick in my child's head. A great addition to any children's library.
January 29, 2009
Now really, how many children's books do you see that are non-fiction AND poetry? That's what I thought. Also, there are lots of penguins!
February 23, 2013
Summary:
This poetry-format picture book chronicles the life of an Antarctic penguin from hatching to finding a mate. Told from the perspective of the protagonist penguin that the story follows, readers learn of the first-hand accounts of the penguin from his early experiences of hatching, keeping track of his mother, and being transported on his father’s feet, to his first experiences in swimming, spotting a predator, and playing with his fellow penguin friends. As the narrator grows up, we also witness him in search of love and finding a mate to continue the cycle of life with. The correlating illustrations and briefness of each account, told in verse, really makes the story easy to read and fun to explore.
Response:
Being that penguins are one of my favorite animals, I really enjoyed following this young penguin on his developmental journey from hatching to searching for love. It was cute to watch this little penguin grow up, and hear about all of the experiences and challenges had to face growing up in Antarctica, “ the coldest place on earth.” The Predator Riddles section of the book also provided for reader interaction, as each riddle included a set of descriptive clues as to what predator the young penguin had spotted. The clues are kid-friendly, which I think make this book all the more capable of being a read aloud for a young audience. Additionally, despite its talking main character and cartoon illustrations, this book does contain some factual information about penguins. For example, the poem My Father’s Feet tells how baby penguins stay warm and is transported via their father’s feet in their early penguin days. I found this interesting that the father penguin was so involved in the life of his young penguin, as typically it is the mother that takes charge in the raising of the offspring. In another poem entitled Regurgitate, readers are exposed to how baby penguins are fed, via regurgitation of food from their parents. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the lively, vivid illustrations that accompanied each short poem, and I also really liked how despite each poem being separate with its own title, the poems all still linked together to tell a chronological story. Moreover, this book embodied all 6 qualities of outstanding children’s literature (TMY, 2010, p.9) and even though it was divided into separate poems, it still provided an underlying straightforward storyline while encompassing a topic that would interest children at its intended interest level. Many young children are fascinated with animals, especially if they’ve visited a zoo and have been exposed to a variety of different animal species. Even as an adult, I am always curious and excited to learn more about animals and how their lives differ from our own. Therefore, I am giving this book a 5-star rating, because it possesses all the necessary elements of children’s literature, was a smooth read, used appropriate but simple language, and exposed readers to the genre of poetry while also telling an interesting story at the same time.
Classroom Connection:
Throughout the story, the penguin telling the story told of adventures he had swimming and splashing in the salty southern sea. He also notes while reciting the “Antarctic Anthem” than the continent he lives on is “the coldest place on earth” with its “brutal, blasting blizzards” and dark winter days. The follows classroom activity to go along with this book would answer the question of how these penguins manage to stay warm during all of this extremely cold weather, because they can’t just slip on a winter coat, boots, and mittens like us. As noted by Mrs. Webster on her classroom connections blog, (http://mrswebsterscc.blogspot.com/201...) her students explore this concept of how penguins stay warm by experimenting in a science-related lesson about penguin blubber. The teacher, in advance, will prepare a “Blubber Bag,” which is 2 Ziploc baggies with lard in between them. (The second bag is to prevent a mess; students won't actually be touching the lard.) During the experiment, students will first briefly stick their hands in a bowl of cold water and ice and take note of how it feels. (Reactions may include cold, uncomfortable, etc.) After making observations with this method, students will then try the activity again while their hands are stuck in the “Blubber Bag.” Students will then record their reactions to the activity while they had the protection on that a penguin has. Students can then compare and discuss the differences between sticking their hand in the ice with the “Blubber Bag” and without it. From this activity, children can learn through a hands-on way that penguins are able to survive the chilly conditions of the Antarctic because of their special layer of protection the have that keeps them warm.
I think this is a relatively quick and simple lesson that would allow the young scientists to relate some of the experiences described in the story to their own life. This can also give them additional insight about why penguins can survive in the cold without a coat, and why we as humans need to bundle up for the cold weather because our bodies don't have blubber to protect us. This lesson would be perfect for kindergarteners, which goes nicely with the intended interest level for this book.
Text Complexity:
As noted by Ruth Manna, (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/ar...) lexile does not provide a corresponding lexile level for this book because it is written in poetry format. (The lexile database includes prose only. Poems, plays, and songs are rated NP, for non-prose.) There was also no guided reading level available. The reported GLE was 3.5. The intended interest level of this book is considered to be kindergarten. Based on this information, I would conclude that this book would be appropriate for a kindergarten read aloud. Since most kindergartners can not read independently yet and with many of them being beginning readers just looking the phonics needed to understand text, I would not conclude that kindergartners could read this independently, especially since this book includes some potentially struggle- some language, including words like: approaching, gorgeously, procrastinate, and regurgitate, However, because of the repetition existing in some of the poems, and the reader interaction opportunities included in the Predator Riddles section, this book is perfect for a young audience read aloud even if some of the language is more complex than the level of comprehension of the listeners.
This poetry-format picture book chronicles the life of an Antarctic penguin from hatching to finding a mate. Told from the perspective of the protagonist penguin that the story follows, readers learn of the first-hand accounts of the penguin from his early experiences of hatching, keeping track of his mother, and being transported on his father’s feet, to his first experiences in swimming, spotting a predator, and playing with his fellow penguin friends. As the narrator grows up, we also witness him in search of love and finding a mate to continue the cycle of life with. The correlating illustrations and briefness of each account, told in verse, really makes the story easy to read and fun to explore.
Response:
Being that penguins are one of my favorite animals, I really enjoyed following this young penguin on his developmental journey from hatching to searching for love. It was cute to watch this little penguin grow up, and hear about all of the experiences and challenges had to face growing up in Antarctica, “ the coldest place on earth.” The Predator Riddles section of the book also provided for reader interaction, as each riddle included a set of descriptive clues as to what predator the young penguin had spotted. The clues are kid-friendly, which I think make this book all the more capable of being a read aloud for a young audience. Additionally, despite its talking main character and cartoon illustrations, this book does contain some factual information about penguins. For example, the poem My Father’s Feet tells how baby penguins stay warm and is transported via their father’s feet in their early penguin days. I found this interesting that the father penguin was so involved in the life of his young penguin, as typically it is the mother that takes charge in the raising of the offspring. In another poem entitled Regurgitate, readers are exposed to how baby penguins are fed, via regurgitation of food from their parents. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the lively, vivid illustrations that accompanied each short poem, and I also really liked how despite each poem being separate with its own title, the poems all still linked together to tell a chronological story. Moreover, this book embodied all 6 qualities of outstanding children’s literature (TMY, 2010, p.9) and even though it was divided into separate poems, it still provided an underlying straightforward storyline while encompassing a topic that would interest children at its intended interest level. Many young children are fascinated with animals, especially if they’ve visited a zoo and have been exposed to a variety of different animal species. Even as an adult, I am always curious and excited to learn more about animals and how their lives differ from our own. Therefore, I am giving this book a 5-star rating, because it possesses all the necessary elements of children’s literature, was a smooth read, used appropriate but simple language, and exposed readers to the genre of poetry while also telling an interesting story at the same time.
Classroom Connection:
Throughout the story, the penguin telling the story told of adventures he had swimming and splashing in the salty southern sea. He also notes while reciting the “Antarctic Anthem” than the continent he lives on is “the coldest place on earth” with its “brutal, blasting blizzards” and dark winter days. The follows classroom activity to go along with this book would answer the question of how these penguins manage to stay warm during all of this extremely cold weather, because they can’t just slip on a winter coat, boots, and mittens like us. As noted by Mrs. Webster on her classroom connections blog, (http://mrswebsterscc.blogspot.com/201...) her students explore this concept of how penguins stay warm by experimenting in a science-related lesson about penguin blubber. The teacher, in advance, will prepare a “Blubber Bag,” which is 2 Ziploc baggies with lard in between them. (The second bag is to prevent a mess; students won't actually be touching the lard.) During the experiment, students will first briefly stick their hands in a bowl of cold water and ice and take note of how it feels. (Reactions may include cold, uncomfortable, etc.) After making observations with this method, students will then try the activity again while their hands are stuck in the “Blubber Bag.” Students will then record their reactions to the activity while they had the protection on that a penguin has. Students can then compare and discuss the differences between sticking their hand in the ice with the “Blubber Bag” and without it. From this activity, children can learn through a hands-on way that penguins are able to survive the chilly conditions of the Antarctic because of their special layer of protection the have that keeps them warm.
I think this is a relatively quick and simple lesson that would allow the young scientists to relate some of the experiences described in the story to their own life. This can also give them additional insight about why penguins can survive in the cold without a coat, and why we as humans need to bundle up for the cold weather because our bodies don't have blubber to protect us. This lesson would be perfect for kindergarteners, which goes nicely with the intended interest level for this book.
Text Complexity:
As noted by Ruth Manna, (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/ar...) lexile does not provide a corresponding lexile level for this book because it is written in poetry format. (The lexile database includes prose only. Poems, plays, and songs are rated NP, for non-prose.) There was also no guided reading level available. The reported GLE was 3.5. The intended interest level of this book is considered to be kindergarten. Based on this information, I would conclude that this book would be appropriate for a kindergarten read aloud. Since most kindergartners can not read independently yet and with many of them being beginning readers just looking the phonics needed to understand text, I would not conclude that kindergartners could read this independently, especially since this book includes some potentially struggle- some language, including words like: approaching, gorgeously, procrastinate, and regurgitate, However, because of the repetition existing in some of the poems, and the reader interaction opportunities included in the Predator Riddles section, this book is perfect for a young audience read aloud even if some of the language is more complex than the level of comprehension of the listeners.
January 22, 2013
Antarctic Antics is one of my favorite picture book/poem books. The poems are amazing...
"They decided even penguins
Have to take the time to play.
So we go belly sliding,
Ta-tum-tum-tummy gliding;
Down the glacier's glassy side,
We begin our ripping ride.
And soon we're stomach slipping,
Fearlessly flip-flop-flipping,
Flying sixty miles an hour
Solely fueled by penguin power.
Soaring far to fast to stop,
We shoot off the glacier's top;
Downward through the air we drop,
Landing with a wet ker-plop."
(That was a piece of one of the poems, Belly Sliding) I hope everyone who reads this review will read
Antarctic Antics.
"They decided even penguins
Have to take the time to play.
So we go belly sliding,
Ta-tum-tum-tummy gliding;
Down the glacier's glassy side,
We begin our ripping ride.
And soon we're stomach slipping,
Fearlessly flip-flop-flipping,
Flying sixty miles an hour
Solely fueled by penguin power.
Soaring far to fast to stop,
We shoot off the glacier's top;
Downward through the air we drop,
Landing with a wet ker-plop."
(That was a piece of one of the poems, Belly Sliding) I hope everyone who reads this review will read
Antarctic Antics.
March 15, 2010
I watched the Bookflix version of this poetry book. The poems were set to music and most of them were sung in this animated video. The art from the book formed the basis for the animation. I started out thinking that this was cute and the songs were fun but by the end I did not like the music and I felt that the way they presented each poem was not necessarily how I might read and interpret them. All the poems were about penguins and Antarctica so this video would fit a unit on penguins for younger readers. It would also be an interesting comparison for students to read a poem and then watch it on the video to see if it matches what they thought about the poem.
October 31, 2013
One of my favorite themes is arctic animals and in particular penguins. Ichose th poem My Father's feet bcauseI think it portrays the nurturing side of the male penguin and opens discussion to males boys being gentle, caring and loving.
My Father's Feet
To keep myself up off the ice
I find my father's feet are nice
I snuggle in his belly fluff
And that's how I stay warm enough
But when my father takes a walk
My cozy world begins to rock
He shuffles left, I holdon tight
Oh no! He's wobblingto the right
Not left again! Oops here he goes.
Do you suppose my father knows
I'm hanging on to his warm toes?
My Father's Feet
To keep myself up off the ice
I find my father's feet are nice
I snuggle in his belly fluff
And that's how I stay warm enough
But when my father takes a walk
My cozy world begins to rock
He shuffles left, I holdon tight
Oh no! He's wobblingto the right
Not left again! Oops here he goes.
Do you suppose my father knows
I'm hanging on to his warm toes?
Read
July 29, 2011I got this off the staff recommendations shelf at the library for April, National Poetry month. The penguins and what they like to do, how they live are well portrayed int he poems, although the different kinds are not distinguished (which I have found to be common). The predators are also fairly limited in scope, but accurate, and it is something I would read to a child and talk about the place itself while doing so and find enjoyable.
October 30, 2013
Author: Judy Sierra
Illustrator: Ariane Dewey
Genre: Poetry
Grade Level: 3.5
Lexile: None
Summary: These poems are about the daily life of penguins. It talks about their adventures and unique things they experience from feedings to courting. A lot of the poems also have to do with the challenges of childhood, which the younger readers can really make a connection to. Penguins are my favorite animal, so I love this book. It is a great resource to have to reference animals and poetry.
Illustrator: Ariane Dewey
Genre: Poetry
Grade Level: 3.5
Lexile: None
Summary: These poems are about the daily life of penguins. It talks about their adventures and unique things they experience from feedings to courting. A lot of the poems also have to do with the challenges of childhood, which the younger readers can really make a connection to. Penguins are my favorite animal, so I love this book. It is a great resource to have to reference animals and poetry.
November 22, 2013
This is a cute collection of informative poems. Arctic animals are a popular theme and this book has tons of new vocabulary words to introduce to young children. That is why I really like this poem:
Regurgitate
It's been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late?
While you and mom procrastinate,
I might become a featherweight!
You know what I'd appreciate?
Cough it up, Dad. Regurgitate
Regurgitate
It's been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late?
While you and mom procrastinate,
I might become a featherweight!
You know what I'd appreciate?
Cough it up, Dad. Regurgitate
January 22, 2013
This book is great to read when we begin our unit of study on Penguins in January. It gives so many interesting and fun penguin facts. Its even better when shown on bookflix or Unitedstreaming because its a book read to the kids through song...its a pretty catchy tune, but gets annoying when I am still singing it to myself at home!
Read
October 20, 2015This book includes several poems about penguins. One really cute poem included is called "Regurgitate." In this poem, the baby penguin asks his dad what is taking him so long to feed him! Children could be instructed to write poems about their favorite animals, or could be given facts about animals on small strips of paper and instructed to write poems about those.
February 14, 2008
Very cute -- but in a good way (not in an annoying way, I guess)!
My favorite part is in "I'm looking for my mother" with all of the sounds that mother penguins make: "Only my mom would say ack!"
My favorite part is in "I'm looking for my mother" with all of the sounds that mother penguins make: "Only my mom would say ack!"
January 18, 2011
This book was pretty funny - I only picked it up because my fiance collects penguins, so it caught my eye on the shelf. The penguin poems were creative and informative, so this would be a good book for a child to learn about the animal.
July 14, 2014
2009 12 16
If forced to choose, as I was last night, I'd have to say that "Regurgitate" is still my favorite. That's because I was suffering from hyperemisis in my first pregnancy, when my husband gave this to me, and because I've just always loved that word.
If forced to choose, as I was last night, I'd have to say that "Regurgitate" is still my favorite. That's because I was suffering from hyperemisis in my first pregnancy, when my husband gave this to me, and because I've just always loved that word.
November 11, 2019
Fun, funny poems with energetic illustrations.
It's been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late?
While you and Mom procrastinate
I might become a featherweight.
You know what I'd appreciate?
Cough it up, Dad! Regurgitate!
It's been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late?
While you and Mom procrastinate
I might become a featherweight.
You know what I'd appreciate?
Cough it up, Dad! Regurgitate!
September 25, 2020
My only criticism is the poem that talks about the fish swimming for 2 months doesn't indicate that this is the female penguin after she has given birth. It refers to "mother" and "father" in other poem so I'm not sure why it was excluded here.
May 23, 2017
Silly, but cute 😊 I could totally see using a couple of the poem/songs & making either puppets or just a crazy dance party worked into my curriculum.
June 17, 2019
This set of poems about penguins were funny and fun. Most of the poems are from the point of view of the penguins. The children enjoyed them.
October 10, 2019
I might have liked the book better, this video production sort of killed it. The poems did contain a lot of information about penguins in a very catchy and easy to digest format for children.
January 1, 2025
I read this book in elementary school, and it played a huge part in my love for poetry. I love this book with my whole soul haha
February 16, 2017
First of all, I'm crazy about penguins and I love this book because I love penguins. Besides, the pictures in the book are adorable! It is a excellent example that poetry and science can go together harmoniously. Since most parts in this book are based on the actual behaviors that penguins exhibit. another amazing part is the poems create a sense of smell, taste,touch...so it is a wonderful book to read especially for children!anyway, the book is charming!
November 15, 2021
I feel so educated. And posh since it was poetic. My favorite was definitely regurgitate:
It’s been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late?
While you and Mom procrastinate,
I might become a featherweight.
You know what I’d appreciate?
Cough it up, Dad! Regurgitate!
It’s been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late?
While you and Mom procrastinate,
I might become a featherweight.
You know what I’d appreciate?
Cough it up, Dad! Regurgitate!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2018
These are simple and basic poems that teach quote a bit about penguins. However, I am not sure that kids who aren't obsessed with penguins will find it that interesting.
October 16, 2019
This is a great poetry book that explains penguins.
May 3, 2020
A fun way to learn about penguins, but got to be a bit long and tedious by the end.
March 7, 2022
A book of simple poems for very young readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews