If You Were a Penguin: A Breathtaking Rhyming Picture Book About Penguins for Kids

by Florence Minor, Wendell Minor

In this simple, rhyming picture book, the youngest readers will learn about penguins. This is the perfect read-aloud for teachers and parents to share with young children as they imagine what life as a penguin is like!

The short text by Florence Minor pairs perfectly with the gorgeous, detailed illustrations by acclaimed illustrator Wendell Minor. Fun facts about penguins are featured at the back of the book.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 23, 2008

About the author

Partner of Wendell Minor.

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading If You Were a Penguin for my daughter on 11/22/2019 and finished it in one sitting. This book is fantastic! I have my 8 year old son read it on his own as well. The Penguin illustrations are super cute. The story started with a question, "If you were a penguin, what could you do?" And then the story lists out on each page what the penguin can do that could be similar to what readers can do. My daughter and I love the sharp colors because my daughter is 4 months old and at the stage to learn to recognize primary colors. I love the fun facts about penguin at the end of the book! If You Were a Penguin is very well written and beautifully illustrated. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

More details at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a children's book that I read to my twin boys. I really liked that this book give a lot of facts about penguins. My boys really enjoyed this book. The pictures was so pretty and eye grabbing. The book does have rhyming in it that I think was so cute. I think this book is great for kids in Pre-k to about 1st grade. (*)

[Archit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penguins are cute, smart, sunny, witty and hey, they can sing as well!

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a cute, rhyming story about life as a flightless bird. Kids meet ten different kinds of penguins. (Yes - they're all adorable!) There's also a page of nifty penguin facts at the end of the book that had me saying, "Wow!"

And, Minor's illustrations are simply gorgeous!

[Lorellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational and very pretty. Tot and I both really enjoyed it. Another thrift shop gem.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wendell and Florence Minor team up in this poetic picture-book about penguins, describing and depicting the various things that these swimming birds can do. "If you were a penguin, / what could you do? / You could fly underwater / or sing a duet. / You could live on the land but / get really wet." So begins the text, which goes on to describe other distinctive activities penguins engage in. A list of penguin facts is provided at the rear of the book, as well as a page delineating the ten different kinds of penguin shown in the artwork...

The third picture-book I have read from this wonderful husband-and-wife team, following upon their Christmas Tree! and How to Be a Bigger Bunny , If You Were a Penguin pairs an engaging and informative rhyming text with beautiful illustrations. Although I always enjoy Wendell Minor's artwork, the visuals here really stood out to me, and elevated the book from a three to a four-star title. They were absolutely gorgeous, and incredibly expressive, capturing the charm of his avian subjects perfectly. Although there are plenty of facts here, especially in the final page, this is a very basic book, and could work very well as an introduction to the topic of penguins, for younger children. It is to such young readers/listeners that I would recommend the book.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book perfect for 3-5 year olds.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I was a penguin. ;-;

This was adorable! Wonderful art and full of all the different penguins! Also fun penguin facts at the end!!

:)

[Lauren Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars merely because the sentence "[penguins] eat squids and fishes without any dishes" makes Cedric belly laugh uncontrollably.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.75

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned at least one new fact about penguins!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely pictures and fun text.

[Ama · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informational picture books about penguins. The rhyming text makes the story a fun read for preschool storytime.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there a cuter animal than a baby penguin? I think not.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

January 3. 2019

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple rhyming text that shares information about penguins.
Further informative text at the end of the book.

[Natalie Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

If You Were a Penguin is a nonfiction picture book about what penguins can do that humans cannot do and what penguins can do that humans can also do. It shares a lot of interesting fun facts and explains to the child fun facts that apply to their lives and makes it fun for them.

I think this book is well-written and the illustrations make it exciting for kids to learn about penguins. I also like how the book is short and sweet which keeps kids' attention a lot more than some of the longer nonfiction books.

Similar to what I said about the chameleon book, this would be a good book for a classroom project about wild animals. They could do a short story about a wild animal that they love and pick one of these books. I also think this would be a good book to include in my classroom library because although fiction books are very important so are nonfictions and they teach children a lot of interesting facts.

[Nancy Bandusky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book about penguins - all different types of penguins. It shares about the many things penguins can do from flying under water to eating without dishes. A page with penguin facts is after the end of the story as well as another page that shows a head view of ten different penguin breeds. After the story is read aloud, the listeners will enjoy finding all of the different breeds in the pages of this delightful book.

The illustrations are beautiful and definitely add to the "reading" experience.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet but super simple introductions to the many kinds of penguins and what they do. The funky "they do many things that you do too!" at the end is a little weird because the book just ends there with no real comparison. After talking about swimming 1,000 feet underwater for 25 minutes and regurgitating food to feed their babies - what exactly do penguins do that a child can do, too??? Other than that, it's a nice, basic intro with absolutely fabulous illustrations.

[Rebecca Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for storytime about penguins/Arctic animals. It's a picture book but it's full of nonfiction facts that children will enjoy. Short sentences on each page should keep younger children's attention. At the end it mentions that there are lots of things penguins do that humans can do too, but doesn't elaborate on this. Could be a way to spark discussion, but it would have been nice to elaborate further. Nice guide to the types of penguins at the end of the book.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If you were a penguin, what could you do?”

All different kinds of penguins and do all different kinds of things: swim in warm or cold water, live underground or on top of ice, “live on land but get really wet,” even where fancy feathers. In the back, the book includes penguin and names all the different penguins featured in the book.

Beautiful illustrations and a simple, rhyming text. Would make a great launch for students getting ready to research penguins.

[Zariah Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is cool book to build children's imagination, and explore. This book give children choice and the option to choose what they would do if they were something other than human. It also give them the chance to be creative and more while asking the question "If you were a penguin what could you do?" Over all this is a great book and I would have this in my classroom library!

[Jennilee Angeski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing at keeping the information brief to help keep children engaged while reading. I loved how it mentioned that there are some penguins that live near warmer weather (and not just the arctic). On the very back there is a fact sheet that can be so fun to incorporate trivia or other activity to help with comprehension!

[Amanda Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute. The picture are so detailed and awesome. This book teaches you some things about penguins, and then at the end, there are some other facts about penguins that were not mentioned in the book. This would be a great read aloud book that we can discuss together. This book could also go along with a science lesson.

[Beanling's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for the 2-3yr old crowd. Short enough text, with a decent rhyming flow, and fabulous artwork. I liked that I was able to share some simple penguin facts with my littles without it being too complicated for them to remember. It was a welcome addition to our arctic animal week, and one of their favorite books.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was alright with this til the ending of 'you can do lots of things penguins do too!' as I thought about regurgitating food for others to eat... but I think that was just me being weird. A simple choice for storytime that could lead to interest in some non-fiction titles.

[Tessa Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story talks about the many skills that penguins have. Penguins can swim in warm or cold places, wear tuxedos and make funny faces. Penguins can do lots of cool things, that humans can do. This book could be used to ask children what other things do humans do that animals can too.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough storybook on the lifestyle and habits of penguins for young readers, suggests different activities such as pretending to incubate an egg. Engaging, realistic pictures and generally charming read-aloud. Recommended ages 2-6.

[Tompkins County Public Library Youth Services]

Add this duo to my list of favorite authors who write about nature - animals in particular. The rhyming text is a bit goofy, but the information that is imparted, along with the beautiful, realistic illustrations, make this a great book for animal-loving families with varying age groups.

[Rebecca Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book for storytime since it allows lots of kiddo participation. It could be a fun one for a storywalk, and it fits the theme for this summer's SRP theme "Ocean of Possibilities." It's a fiction picture book, but it has true info in it. I love Wendell and Florence Minor!