Penguin Small

by inkpen-mick

'Penguin Small' tells the story of the last North Pole penguin, who as it turns out was also the smallest penguin!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Steph Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book Is about a penguin who is afraid to swim to the south pole with his friends so stays behind. As the penguin walks away he comes across a snowman who helps save him from the polar bears. They travel across the sea together where they come across an island. This stage of the book would be good for phonics and nonsense words. It could help children make their own sentences with nonsense words in them to help them become familiar with the concept of them. This is a sweet book about friendship and over-coming a fear.

[Katie Birtwistle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story by Mick Inkpen focuses on a penguin named Penguin Small who faces a challenge when his family decide to move from the North Pole to the South Pole to escape the polar bears. As his family are swimming away Penguin Small becomes upset as he is terrified of water and too scared to jump in. Penguin Small meets a snowman and hides under his hat. The polar bears become angry and demand to know the whereabouts of the penguins and they jump so hard on the snow that the snowman breaks away on an iceberg and floats out to sea until they come across an island with lots of new animals. The Neverwasanosaurus told Penguin Small to fly to his family but he had never learnt to fly so he said goodbye to the snowman and set off into the sea using the snowman’s hat as a boat. A huge storm started and Penguin Small was thrown up into the air by the waves and he suddenly began to fly. He practised his flying for days and eventually spotted his family on an island and flew over to them.

The book consists of beautiful illustrations and large fold out pages. The details of the drawings help the children to visualise the various settings, Penguin Small and the characters he meets along the way. It is these pictures that have been very unforgettable since reading the book as a child myself. The fold out pages are good for children to become more active and involved in the book and it is very well suited for kinaesthetic learners.

The book is a fictional animated story which adds a sense of imagination to the story. Children can enjoy a talking penguin, a talking snowman, a helpful blue whale, an illusory animal called a Neverwasanosaurus and a friendly adventure whilst understanding the fictional approach of the story.

Penguin Small is particularly suited to a year one class. Children in year one learn to write chronological texts using simple structures and this book would be well matched with a task which asked the children to write their own version of the story. The simple language and lots of visual description encourages children to find new words and phrases including story language.

Alongside being a wonderful animated story, this book also teaches children that practise makes perfect. This is demonstrated by Penguin Small practising his flying skills for days and days and eventually being able to fly to his new home and to his family.

[Marie Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

During school based training the book Penguin Small was read as part of an introduction to a new part of the curriculum in PE. The new topic was dance; therefore this story was incorporated in relation to movement.
The story of Penguin Small is about a penguin who is afraid of swimming unlike the other penguins. During a walk around the North Pole, he meets a snowman, who he begins to talk to. However penguin small then sees a group of scary polar bears walking over in their direction and he hides in the snowman’s hat. The polar bears demand to know where the penguin is as they bang the ground, until the ice breaks and the snowman and penguin are sent sailing away from the North Pole on their tiny ice island. They float to a far exotic island, with many strange animals that inhabit the land. After this mini adventure penguin small realises that he misses his friends, says goodbye to the snowman and tries to travel back to the North Pole, however during this journey there is a storm, which sweeps penguin small high into the air…with a fear of water penguin small tries to flap his wings to save himself. It was that moment when penguin small realises he can fly and is able to fly back home to be reunited with his friends.
A delightful story, with a lovely ending, this book was used for year two dance in PE, in order to incorporate movement, the differences in how the penguins move to the polar bears. However, I believe that this book can be used for a year one class, as it has beautiful illustrations with fold out pages, which always receive a ‘wow’ from the classes that have read the book. It is also a creative story on the basis that penguins can fly and there are animals called a ‘neverwasanoserous’.
I would give this book a four star rating, as for a year two classes there is lots of vocabulary and questions to ask on the basis of the story. Short story ideal for class storytelling, or bedtime reading for parents.

[Katie Cat Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely! Gorgeous! Big!

Story: The penguins are moving from the North to the South Pole. Penguin Small watches his friends swim away but stays behind, to scared to swim. If only penguins could fly...

Language: This is a bit longer picture book, with a fleshed out story, and by the end of it you'll feel like you just went on an adventure. There are full page illustrations, half page illustrations and humongous fold out illustrations! The vocabulary is more advanced (and inventive) than a typical picture book but the simplicity of the illustrations offsets it. That being said, the detailing and colors and shadowing of the illustrations really draw the eye in and grab your attention in the best way.

Characters: Our star in penguin Small, who is very brave, even if he is too scared to swim. The polar bears are our "bad guys" who roar and shout but look like fluffy little teddy bears in the pictures. We also meet a snowman, whose innocence makes him an ideal companion for little penguin Small.

highly recommend this book, just for the fold out reading experience! a must read for storytimes.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

With plentiful use of white space and amazing fold out pages, this edition is presented beautifully to the very young reader.
Mick Ingpen’s inventive story and luscious illustrations bring Penguin Small to life as he tentatively treks from North Pole to South Pole.

[Laura Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is is a humorous tale of a journey, that is touching and heartwarming to read about overcoming adversity, and is highly accessible to children.

[Rebecca Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penguins and Threecans! This book is great

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazon Book Description:
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Penguin Small meets Snowman, who helps him escape from some ill-tempered polar bears. However, the bears stomp on the ice until it breaks off, becoming a mini-iceberg, with Penguin and Snowman floating away from their home on the North Pole. They land on a tropical island (North Pole snow never melts) filled with wondrous animals, especially a Neverwozanoceros. Missing his friends, who have gone to the South Pole to escape the polar bears, Penguin sets out in Snowman's hat to find them, leaving his tearful friend behind. After a storm at sea and a ride on the nose of a whale, he reaches his destination. Colorful, appealing illustrations, with fold-out pages for the island, a glossy fold-out insert of the whale, and a small cloud extension, will delight preschoolers. However, the story mistakenly leads children to believe that penguins live or once lived among Eskimos at the North Pole.
Julie Tomlianovich, South Central Kansas Library System, Hutchinson