penguins – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Flipping Brilliant by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan

Inspired by Marshmallow’s first book for the new season, Caramel decided to start his reviews with Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life, first published in 2008. The book brings together nature photographer Jonathan Chester’s images with accompanying text by Patrick Regan. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan. — Caramel reviews *Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life* by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I am glad you chose to talk about this book today, even though it may not be completely targeting a young audience.

Caramel: Yes, Marshmallow talked about an advice book, so I thought this would work well to follow it. And also because it is a really short book. Only fifty-nine pages!

S: That is short! And actually the book does not have much text in it.

C: Yep. Basically 39 out of 59 are all just photos of penguins.

S: Did you just count that?

C: No. But I am approximating. A lot of the pages are full of penguin photos and there are some words sprinkled here and there that match them.

S: I see. So there are some cool photos by the photographer, Jonathan Chester, and then the other person, Patrick Regan adds some pithy statement to each photo that makes sense.

C: Yes for example one of my favorites is a photo of four penguins walking in a line. This is on page 57. They look really funny. They look like the Beatles. Remember how they were crossing the street?

S: Yes, here it is:

Image from Beatles album Abbey Road, obtained from Wikipedia, under fair use conditions.

C: Yes, so the four penguins look just like that! And the words next to the penguins say:

“Be an original. There have been countless imitators, but there is a reason the Beatles will never be forgotten. Find your own road.”

S: That is cool Caramel!

C: Yes I agree!

Caramel is reading Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan. — Caramel is reading *Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life* by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan.

S: I think there are some notes about each of the photos in the back of the book. Right?

C: Yep. For my four penguins it says: “King penguins, Falkland Islands. King penguins, true to their name, comport themselves in a regal fashion. Their stateliness, beautiful mating ritual, and gregariousness make them a delight to observe.”

S: That is neat! So you get to learn the type of penguin in the picture and also where the photo was actually taken.

C: Yes. And a little fact about the penguins too. And you know I love my facts!

S: I do! But when I first saw you read this book, I thought it was going to be something like Penguins Hate Stuff, which you reviewed a long time ago.

C: Yeah, that was a good book, too. But that was mostly funny. And the images were hand-drawn. Here the images are real, and the words say meaningful stuff. But of course I can laugh at them too. For example, there is one which says “It’s better to be smart than cute. (And best to be both.)” And that is kind of funny!

S: But it is also true. You are both smart and cute. So it applies to you!

C: Hmm, I don’t know how to respond to that without sounding too full of myself or too humble.

S: Okay, you do not have to say anything.

C: Okay, so maybe we can say we are done with the post?

S: Sure. Let us wrap it up then. What would you like to say to our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan and recommends it to all little bunnies who love penguins. (After all, penguins are among the cutest animals, besides bunnies.) — Caramel enjoyed reading *Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life* by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan and recommends it to all little bunnies who love penguins. (After all, penguins are among the cutest animals, besides bunnies.)

Caramel reviews Spy Penguins: Golden Egg by Sam Hay

The book bunnies naturally love bunnies, but the whole family also has a special place in their hearts for penguins. And many children’s book authors seem to agree that penguins make great characters. Caramel has already reviewed several books about them; see Penguin and Pinecone: A Friendship Story by Salina Yoon, Penguins Hate Stuff by Greg Stones, And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister, and The Trouble with Penguins by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. (Even Marshmallow has reviewed one; see Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater.) Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about another book with penguin heroes: Spy Penguins: Golden Egg, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki.

Caramel reviews Spy Penguins: Golden Egg, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki. — Caramel reviews *Spy Penguins: Golden Egg*, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki.

Sprinkles: Okay Caramel, you got this chapter book a while ago, and finally you decided to talk about it for the blog. Perhaps we just needed to finish all the dragon books in the house first.

Caramel: Yup. And don’t forget pangolin books!

S: I guess those dragons and pangolins are always going to be your favorites. But it seems that penguins come quite close.

C: Yes, penguins might be possibly my third favorite creatures. But if you include robots, then maybe penguins might be fourth on my list. Still I like them a lot.

S: I know. You already reviewed several books for the blog about them. But let us focus on this one now. What is Spy Penguins: Golden Egg about?

C: It is about two penguins named Jackson and Quigley, who want to be spies. They are young though; at least Jackson is still living with his parents. Still, they want to join the FBI and solve crimes.

S: What is the FBI? Is it the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

C: No, no, no! It is the Frosty Bureau of Investigation!

S: Hmm, this kind of reminds me of the book N.E.R.D.S. that you reviewed a while back. There, too, you had a bunch of characters who were solving crimes.

C: Yes, Jackson and Quigley also have gadgets and gizmos, like the kids from N.E.R.D.S. But they are penguins and actually they are too young for the FBI. Still they try to solve crimes. Even when they are told not to. Which is kind of like Harry Potter, who never listens to the grownups in his life.

S: I know, right? It seems that a lot of book characters don’t listen to the grownups in their lives and get mixed up in all sorts of things. But sometimes they turn out to be fun and exciting. So tell me what kinds of crimes are Jackson and Quigley working to solve?

C: In this book, there is a criminal named Icejob, who has escaped from prison. And the two spy penguins try to find him.

S: And what is the golden egg in the title?

C: There is a game called the Golden Egg Games, which is kind of like the Olympics. It happens every ten years. And the winner, the caretaker and the egg, get rewarded.

S: Wait, so you are supposed to run or do some athletic stuff with an egg??

C: Pretty much. And Jackson is taking care of his sibling egg because his mom is sick. And so the two of them, Jackson and the egg, play in the Golden Egg Games, and —

S: Hey! No big spoilers! How is the Golden Egg game related to the criminal Icejob?

C: Well, Icejob steals the Golden Egg and the egg which is supposed to become Jackson’s sibling.

S: So is the Golden Egg like a trophy you get when you win the Golden Egg Games?

C: No. It is a giant golden egg, and the winners’ names are written on it.

S: Hmm. Kind of like the record of the history of the games, then?

C: Yes, I think you could say that.

Caramel is reading Spy Penguins: Golden Egg, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki. — Caramel is reading *Spy Penguins: Golden Egg*, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki.

S: Hmm, this all sounds quite fun and exciting. I’m guessing those two words might be some of your words for this book, am I right?

C: Yep. I’d say, fun, exciting, and funny. And there are neat pictures in the book, too.

S: I can see you liked the book Caramel. Did you know this was one of a series of books about these two penguins?

C: Yes. This is apparently book three in a series.

S: Did you know it when you began to read the book?

C: Not really, but you figure it out soon enough. It did say some things about some characters and events from the earlier books.

S: Hmm, but it seemed like you still enjoyed the book, even though you had not read the first two books.

C: Yes. I think you could definitely enjoy this without having read the first two books. But now I want to read them!

S: We’ll see if we can find copies to get in your paws some time Caramel.

C: And this third book kind of ends with a cliffhanger. What I mean is that there is some new mystery that we learn about.

S: Kind of like in The Menagerie, then.

C: Right. The main story of this book is finished, but there are hints about the next adventure, and I want to learn more!

S: I don’t know if there will be a fourth book though, Caramel. I did not see anything about it online. So maybe the author might have been thinking of writing a fourth book, but I’m not sure if she ended up doing so.

C: Oh I hope she does! I want to read more about these spy penguins!

S: I can see that! But perhaps this is a good time to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: First I want to say to the author: please please please write a fourth book. And then maybe some more!

S: Okay… And to our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Spy Penguins: Golden Egg, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki, and he is hoping that these two fun-loving penguins will have many more adventures together. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Spy Penguins: Golden Egg*, written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Marek Jagucki, and he is hoping that these two fun-loving penguins will have many more adventures together.

Caramel reviews The Trouble with Penguins by Rebecca Jordan-Glum

For his penultimate post for 2020, Caramel chose to review a neat picture book about penguins learning about marshmallows (and sharing) called The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. — Caramel reviews *The Trouble with Penguins*, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, what do you want to tell us about this book?

Caramel: It is a cute book about penguins. They apparently have some troubles. But I think penguins are perfectly fine.

S: I think the author uses the phrase “the trouble with penguins” a couple times. Can you find those in the book?

C: “You see the trouble with penguins is that they don’t always like to share.” And then there is this one: “Everyone knows that the trouble with penguins is that they aren’t very good at admitting when they are wrong.”

S: Hmm. Those troubles sound very familiar to me. I know some little bunnies who don’t always like to share…

C: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

S: Hmm, and I know some little bunnies who don’t always like to admit when they are wrong.

C: I still don’t know what you’re talking about.

S: Hmm, then let us say that it is quite challenging sometimes to admit when one makes a mistake. Isn’t that true?

C: I don’t know.

S: Well, sometimes I have trouble admitting when I am wrong.

C: I don’t.

S: Well, sometimes it does take a while, but eventually you do realize that you made a mistake and try to figure things out. Which is not a bad thing at all. But in these kinds of ways, these penguins seem like typical little bunnies to me.

C: Yes I guess so. And they love marshmallows! I love them too! Maybe we can have some with hot chocolate tonight?

S: That sounds good to me!

Caramel is reading The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. These are the pages where the first penguin teaches the others about marshmallows. — Caramel is reading *The Trouble with Penguins*, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. These are the pages where the first penguin teaches the others about marshmallows.

S: Okay, back to the book. What happens to the penguins in the book?

C: One of these little penguins learns how to roast marshmallows over a campfire, and teaches all his friends. But in the Antarctic ice, it is probably not a very good idea to have campfires because there isn’t any wood to use! And they all want their own sticks and their own fires and so on.

S: Yes, so then they get into some troubles, right?

C: Yes. But they eventually figure things out.

S: Yes, that’s right. It is a really sweet story. What three words would you use to describe it Caramel?

C: Warm, and fuzzy, and cute.

S: Those are good descriptors for this book Caramel! Reading the book made me want to have that hot chocolate with you!

C: That’s good because I’ve been ready for that hot chocolate, since yesterday.

S: Okay, maybe after dinner. But first we need to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny adventures!

Caramel really enjoyed reading The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum, and thinks all other little bunnies who love penguins and marshmallows will enjoy it, too. — Caramel really enjoyed reading *The Trouble with Penguins*, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum, and thinks all other little bunnies who love penguins and marshmallows will enjoy it, too.

Caramel reviews Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister

Today Caramel wanted to share with the Book Bunnies Blog readers an old favorite: Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister. As always, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell us about this book.

Caramel: This is a good book if you like penguins and if you want to fly.

S: Hmm, that sounds kind of strange. What do you mean?

C: Well, it is about a little penguin named Penguin Pete, who wants to fly.

S: But we know penguins cannot fly. So Pete is bound for disappointment.

C: Yes. But then he learns to swim and that is fun, too. So he is not disappointed anymore.

S: That is sweet.

C: Yes, this is a really good book. If I was Marshmallow, I’d rate it 100%.

S: Hmm, what do you like about it?

C: I like that he wants to fly but he never gets to.

S: That sounds sad though.

C: Yes.

Caramel is looking at the page where Penguin Pete is trying to fly, in Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister. — Caramel is looking at the page where Penguin Pete is trying to fly, in *Penguin Pete* by Marcus Pfister.

S: I didn’t know you liked sad stories.

C: Well, I don’t, but it’s not sad in the end. He does get happy. And he is funny, too. He is ice skating. With his bare feet! Oh, I think it is actually called “flipper skating”.

S: Yes, Penguin Pete is cute.

C: Oh, and then Pete makes a friend, a little bird. But then the little friend has to leave.

S: Well, that sounds sad, too. Penguin Pete is even crying on that page.

C: Yes, but I still like the book. And his bird friend will come back next year.

S: Why did you pick this book for today?

C: I like penguins. All our family likes them. Right?

S: I think that is true. Between the two of you, you have already reviewed so many books about penguins! What else do you want to tell us about this book? What do you think this book is really about?

C: I think it is about friendship. And stubbornness.

S: How so?

C: Because Penguin Pete doesn’t give up trying to fly until he finds out that penguins can’t really fly.

S: So is his stubbornness useless then?

C: Yes, I guess so. Or maybe not. Because being stubborn is how he learns how to swim. And how he becomes friends with Steve the bird.

S: I know you like reading about friendships. You have already reviewed The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein, Penguin and Pinecone: A Friendship Story by Salina Yoon, and Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld. How do you think this book compares with those other ones? Do you have a favorite among these?

C: No. I like them all.

S: I agree. They are all very sweet stories. Each in its own special way. I guess this is a good enough time to wrap things up.

C: OK.

S: So what do you want to say Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies adventures!

Caramel enjoys reading and rereading Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister. — Caramel enjoys reading and rereading *Penguin Pete* by Marcus Pfister.