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Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life
"""The more you find out about penguins, the more they seem to have in common with another oddly endearing flightless biped. Namely, us."" --Flipping Brilliant Think March of the Penguins meets Life's Little Instruction Book by way of National Geographic. Award-winning nature photographer Jonathan Chester captures the essence of the Antarctic's most popular residents to illustrate the similarities between penguins' lives and our own. Patrick Regan's clever narrative offers surprising insights and humorously entertaining life lessons. The appeal of penguins is undeniable and universal. And we can learn a lot from these fat, funny birds. Lessons like: * The meek sleep alone, * It's better to be smart than cute, and * You can be too thin. (""After all,"" the book explains, ""if the Olsen twins ever get locked in a walk-in cooler for days and are forced to live off their own body fat, they're goners. Penguins? They're good for months."") Flipping Brilliant includes helpful environmental information about the penguin habitat and the effects of global warming, including Web sites that show how you can help. "
- GenresNonfictionBirds
64 pages
First published March 15, 2008
1 person is currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 1, 2020
Alright alright... not really a full book. But I was 39 out of 40 on my annual goal and had to squeeze one final book in before the new year in 3 hours. It was cute, penguins and humans and the parallels between peppered with life lessons. Probably a children’s book. Possibly a toilet reader. Either way. 40 in the books. Happy new year!
June 16, 2013
Too cute!
And actually has good advice!
And actually has good advice!
October 9, 2017
Amazing eye-opener regarding these cuddly creatures far far away - another book of metaphors but there’s a bunch to learn from the scientific aspect of these very species too! I’ve learned at least a dozen new things about penguins that I can also easily relate the the philosophical / self-helping pointers and easily remember to apply - thanks to the marvelous illustrations. Thanks, Jonathan!
February 9, 2021
So cute. The writing's funny and it matched the penguin photos. Sound and practical life advice, too. It reminded me of this little piece I wrote (Where Penguins Thrive) that was inspired by the penguin photos and stories that Paul Nicklen shared for Nat Geo.
February 4, 2023
4.5 Stars
December 20, 2024
Brilliant Happy Book. On our shelf, thanks to Neil (4).
August 27, 2021
Super cute book
February 14, 2017
Synopsis
In this short, inspirational book, Jonathan Chester uses penguins to illustrate why life isn’t so bad. Through the lives of penguins (and Patrick T. Regan’s photography), Chester gives us many reasons to be happy and reinforces why we shouldn’t be bothered by those little things that can sometimes irk us or even force their way into slowly consuming our lives. Look at some cute pictures of the cutest birds ever and remind yourself that life isn’t really all so bad after all.
Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick T. Regan
★★★★★
Genre: Nonfiction/Inspirational/Gift Book
Release Date: March 2008
Source: Gifted
On My Shelf: Yes
Reread.
This is actually my 3rd (if not more?) time flipping (HA) through this short book. I revisit every now and then to give myself a laugh and lots of smiles.
I was gifted a copy of this from my parents for my high school (way back when) graduation because penguins are my favorite animals. That’s why I still reread this book–not frequently but–often, because I never tire of looking at cute pictures of penguins and being reminded that everything is actually most likely, maybe, probably going to be okay.
There’s not much, overall, to say about this book other than this is a wonderful read if you’re looking for a boost or if you, like me, just really love penguins. If you’re looking for some deep form of inspiration, this, however, is not the book for you. Everything in here is pretty light and superficial, but it does help for a little while at least. Plus, the photography is beautiful. The pictures are honestly what really make this book. Without them, I probably wouldn’t visit the pages as much as I do.
Overall, this is just a very cute book, and I recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a reason to smile. This is definitely something to keep on hand for those days that just don’t seem to go anywhere close to right. If you love penguins, bump this one up to a must-have, because how can you pass up penguins??
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.
In this short, inspirational book, Jonathan Chester uses penguins to illustrate why life isn’t so bad. Through the lives of penguins (and Patrick T. Regan’s photography), Chester gives us many reasons to be happy and reinforces why we shouldn’t be bothered by those little things that can sometimes irk us or even force their way into slowly consuming our lives. Look at some cute pictures of the cutest birds ever and remind yourself that life isn’t really all so bad after all.
Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick T. Regan
★★★★★
Genre: Nonfiction/Inspirational/Gift Book
Release Date: March 2008
Source: Gifted
On My Shelf: Yes
Reread.
This is actually my 3rd (if not more?) time flipping (HA) through this short book. I revisit every now and then to give myself a laugh and lots of smiles.
I was gifted a copy of this from my parents for my high school (way back when) graduation because penguins are my favorite animals. That’s why I still reread this book–not frequently but–often, because I never tire of looking at cute pictures of penguins and being reminded that everything is actually most likely, maybe, probably going to be okay.
There’s not much, overall, to say about this book other than this is a wonderful read if you’re looking for a boost or if you, like me, just really love penguins. If you’re looking for some deep form of inspiration, this, however, is not the book for you. Everything in here is pretty light and superficial, but it does help for a little while at least. Plus, the photography is beautiful. The pictures are honestly what really make this book. Without them, I probably wouldn’t visit the pages as much as I do.
Overall, this is just a very cute book, and I recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a reason to smile. This is definitely something to keep on hand for those days that just don’t seem to go anywhere close to right. If you love penguins, bump this one up to a must-have, because how can you pass up penguins??
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.
February 13, 2014
My mom is always one to purchase cute, inspirational books for me, including a little inscription on the cover flap. This book did not disappoint, and I find myself reading it whenever I'm feeling down and need some motivation, and what better way to get that motivation than by learning some life lessons from my favorite animal... penguins! The pictures of these penguins are incredible, and I wish I had the nerve to cut a page out and frame it, but I could never do that to a book! If you're looking to share great life lessons with anyone in your life, this is the book to pick up!
February 24, 2015
Flipping Brilliant is different than I expected it to be, but it is still a good book. Each page contains facts about the different types of penguins. Yet, little life lessons are intertwined with these facts. The entire book is filled with bright, colorful pages. A quick and easy read.
February 14, 2013
The pictures are very cute.
March 7, 2013
Cute book with penguins about life
May 13, 2013
Everyone knows how much I love penguins, so it was an awesome surprise on Monday morning to see this book sitting at my desk. Such cute little pictures with life lessons. :)
February 23, 2014
Penguins, happiness - what more do you need...?!
May 1, 2017
It is a great book to read
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews