Penguins!

by Gail Gibbons

"Mazzoli's steady, clear narration is perfect for articulating facts about these birds of the Arctic. Listeners will relish hearing about the variety of penguins and their distinctive characteristics.... Penguin calls and sounds from the habitat complete the recording." -AudioFile Magazine

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Nonfiction, Science, Birds, Childrens, Nature

Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

From gailgibbons.com: I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944. Even as a little child, I was always busy putting books together. Sometimes I would bind them with yarn to hold the pages together. I've always loved drawing and painting. I was also a very curious child. My parents tell me that I was always asking lots and lots of questions.

Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.

Reviews

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't love Gail Gibbons, but they are effective as a non-fiction book to compare with fiction.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great overview. More informative than most kids' penguin guides I've read. I'd like to see Gail Gibbons' educational writing with photographs as opposed to illustrations.

[Kerri McElroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penguins is a nonfiction book written by Gail Gibbons. It has not won any awards but it teaches children all about penguins. The intended age group for this book is ags 6-8 which is second through fourth grade.

This book takes you through the life of a penguin and how they are raised. This is a very informative book and on every page you are able to learn a new fact about penguins which is exciting.

I gave this book a five star rating because it breaks down everything and keeps the children engaged. The characters are simple they are purely penguins, penguins, and more penguins. The plot is amazing because not only is it teaching various facts about penguins but it also contains bolded words that are important. The illistrations are beautiful and give you a great visual of what a penguin's habitat looks like. This story also gives diagrams which are important especially for visual learners like me. I strongly encourage this book to be read in schools especially near christmas time.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are 18 different species of penguins, all living within the southern hemisphere. They all have the same body shape, but have different patterns and may have colorful patches. They are swimmers, with flippers rather than wings. Penguins are quiet unless it's mating time when the rookery is quite noisy. Penguins use to be hunted for their skins and fat - now they are in danger. Oil spills, overfishing, and even tourists harm the colonies.

The text is fairly simple and in quite large print. I haven't seen the 1998 edition, so I don't know the updates. I wish they had included some photography - Gibbons' illustrations are fine, but I think today's kids would like at least 1 look at the real thing. Lots of penguin information, not a lot of back matter - I think non-fiction needs sources and other context.

cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illustrated introduction to those wonderful waddling water birds!

Living only in the southern hemisphere, there are seventeen different kinds of penguins. With bright watercolor illustrations and kid-friendly language, Gail Gibbons introduces these black and white birds, describing where and how they live, what they eat, and how they hatch their young.

An exploration of the egg-laying and chick-raising habits of the emperor penguin is also included, describing how these large penguins take care of their babies in extremely cold temperatures, working together to look after one large egg at a time.

Readers will also learn about threats to penguin populations, and what conservation efforts have been made to help preserve them. A collection of penguin facts is also included.

[Laura Quigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is appropriate for the kindergarten to the second-grade range. This book is all about the lives of penguins and where they live and why they look the way they do. As well as other fun facts about penguins such as their height and why they gather together in a herd. I thought this book was very straightforward and had good pictures of learning, overall it was a good book. This book could be used in the classroom when talking either about snow or animals and also it would be fun to incorporate a type of art project with this book.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has lots of information about penguins and Gibbons' typical watercolor illustrations. I was annoyed at the inclusion of evolution and ended up skipping that section ("Penguins are birds, but they lost their ability to fly millions of years ago. Over time they began to spend a lot of time hunting for food in frigid waters. Their wings changed into powerful, rigid flippers for swimming.")

[Melissa Namba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a nephew who loves penguins. I hope he appreciates the information in this book and that it piques his interest enough to do more research rather than just looking at penguins.

[Heather J · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: there are some evolutionary references in this book.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Describes the habitat, physical characteristics and behavior of different kinds of penguins.

[Melanie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good information on penguins.

[Adrianne Rosal · Rating 5 out of 5]

When your students are learning about penguins this is a good book to research.

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Updated from 1998 version.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks, Ms. Gail Gibbons!

[Micah Chi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penguins are so cute!!! I wish I had one as a pet.

[Eliza Thomas]

Informational Text

"Penguins!" by Gail Gibbons is a book about all of the different types of penguins. It has wonderful illustrations that are labeled and eye-catching. Each page has a large picture and a paragraph related to it. This book is full of facts about every type of penguin, including their habitats, eating habits, and family life. Some of the words may be difficult for elementary schoolers, but the author usually includes their meaning somewhere in the sentence. This book is full of information and would be interesting to anyone wanting to learn about penguins.
I would use this book in my classroom as an optional source for a research project. As part of a study on animals, I could have my students choose any animal and make a picture book about it. I would have this book as an option for a source, so if a student wanted to write about penguins they could use it. I could also use this book with the whole class as an example when teaching how to make inferences. We could read the book together and I could ask them questions after such as "why do you think the author included so many pictures?" or "why does each type of penguin look different?" This would be a great book to have in my classroom because it has great information on penguins and is a rich informational text.

[Nicole Marzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penguins! by Gail Gibbons is an informational picture book. Gibbons worked as the author and illustrator. This book gives information on a penguin's physical qualities, their bodily functions (swimming, diving, eating), how they survive the cold, and how they mate/raise their young.

Gibbons obviously has a certain style in all of her informational books. There are plenty of maps showing where penguins live. Also, there are many diagrams and close-ups giving additional information that the text does not include. One page that really stood out to me was the page that showed different kinds of penguins. There was a clear illustration of each type listed, and it was helpful to see the differences and similarities in each of them. I also thought the last page of the book was interesting; it showed the penguins in the zoo/aquarium being viewed by people of all ages. I learned a lot about penguins while reading this book, and I highly recommend this book (as while as Gail Gibbons overall).

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good, kid-friendly source of information about penguins. I liked the way the information was organized and felt like the writer did a nice job of using pictures to support the text. This is a good book for lower or struggling readers because the text does not look at all overwhelming but it's still not super easy and dumbed down. As I was reading, I kept thinking that I would have liked to have seen some photographs, not just drawings of penguins, but then I think the book would look messy and less cohesive. So, overall, definitely 4 stars because it's informative, useful, and kid-friendly!

[Rachel Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the way that Gail Gibbons wrote and illustrated this book on penguins. The illustrations are draw, almost water coloring looking, and are so exciting to look at. She uses labeling a lot too in the illustrations, which is helpful for younger readers or those getting used to nonfiction books. The pictures take up more of the page then the words, so this would be a great book for the earlier elementary grades specifically. I would use this book in my classroom library as an example of good, nonfiction writing and even as a model for students who are working on writing their own nonfiction story.

[Leslie Kress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy Gail Gibbons books. I think they are educational and interesting to many children. This book lists the seventeen different kinds of penguins, shows where penguins live, and includes pretty much every fact in between. Most pages don't have more than 5 or 6 sentences and the illustrations are very detailed. I think this makes the book easy for children to read and enjoy. I read this book to my class this year and I felt like it held their attention pretty well. This book could be used if a class was researching penguins. It could also be used to teach nonfiction text features.

[Sara]

Penguins! describes all types of penguins. It includes where they live, how they live, and their life cycle. Richly detailed and illustrated, this book is enthusiastic and engaging. It also warns the reader about some of the issues modern penguins face.

Reader response / classroom connections:
1. Have each student pick a specific type of penguin to research and create a diorama or drawing of it and its specific habitat.
2. Create a poem about penguins.

Non-fiction text-set: penguins

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This factual book about penguins has wonderful illustrations and a bunch of information on penguins. You will learn where they live and how long they have been around. There is information on the rookeries, on feeding, and on the creches. Not all 17 species are covered in-depth, but it is informative nonetheless.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB#19: I really enjoyed this nonficton children's book. The author did a great job of describing penguins and using illustrations to make specific distinctions. The illustrations were just as important as the text in this sense--and it was fun to read. I think this is a good nonfiction text to use for kids who normally do not like nonfiction genres, especially for a science class!

[Latosha Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I know a lot more about penguins. This book provides some history of penguins. It tells the reader that penguins could fly many years ago. But now they cannot. This is a great book to read as a whole group to a class, and then placed into a literacy station. Students can write about. Their favorite part of the book and tell why it is their favorite part.

[Jaclyn Tilden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all Gail Gibbons books, they are so informative! I read this book to my class when I modeled an all about (Penguins) writing. It is a very kid friendly book with great pictures, captions, labels, diagrams and maps. This is a great example of a non-fiction book. The book does a nice job laying out habitat, food, what it looks like and babies.

[Lynn Plourde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gibbons, the queen of nonfiction books for 4-8 year olds shares lots of fun penguin facts--where they live, what they eat, how they raise their babies. The illustrations are not very varied; but then again, penguins don't look very different from other kinds of penguins.

[Maciele evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of my favoritw books

[Alexandria K · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book you learn about penguins. How Emperor Penguins don't make nests they just warm the egg and baby chick with its brood pouch.

[Matthew sutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I GOT 100% IT IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!