Ella and Penguin Stick Together

by Megan Maynor, Rosalinde Bonnet (Illustrator)

Overview

Sometimes all you need is a good friend to help you be brave.

Ella has a surprise for Penguin—glow-in-the-dark stickers! But to see the stickers glow, Ella and Penguin must be in the dark. And the dark is so . . . dark! If only they could see the stickers glow in the light—but that won't work. Soon Ella and Penguin find out that if they stick together, they can face anything.

Megan Maynor's sweet and lively text, paired with Rosalinde Bonnet's irresistible illustrations, will have readers clamoring for more Ella and Penguin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062330888
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/05/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	775,247
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Megan Maynor, like Penguin, used to wear pants on her head and pretend she had long hair. She lives in Minnesota with her family and hardly ever does that anymore. But she does love writing about Ella and Penguin. This is her second book. Visit her online at www.meganmaynor.com and @megan_maynor.

Rosalinde Bonnet loved to draw when she was little. She would often get into trouble at school because she doodled all over her notebooks during class. After high school she studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Since her graduation in 2004, she has written and/or illustrated numerous children’s books, mainly published in France and England. She lives in Versailles, France. You can visit her at www.rosalindebonnet.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/19/2015
Ella has just received a sheet of glow-in-the-dark stickers, and she’s eager to share them with her friend Penguin. But the only way to appreciate their radiance is to go deep into the hallway closet—and while Ella is a little hesitant, Penguin breaks out in a sweat when he even thinks of the dark. Maybe, he suggests, “the stickers will glow somewhere else—somewhere mostly dark.” Maynor, making her debut, backs up her perceptive premise with solid comic writing; even though Ella and Penguin’s search for a nonscary, semidark viewing environment proves unsuccessful, their attempts (which include sitting under a laundry basket and shielding the stickers from the light with frog- and bear-shaped umbrellas) have the authentic ring of kid ingenuity at work. Working in watercolor and pencil, Bonnet (Poppy’s Perfect Paper) makes the repartee between the friends natural and appealing, and when Ella and Penguin finally screw their courage to the sticking place and enter the closet, the unleashed glowing is a payoff worth waiting for. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Abigail Samoun, Red Fox Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Maynor, making her debut, backs up her perceptive premise with solid comic writing; even though Ella and Penguin’s search for a nonscary, semidark viewing environment proves unsuccessful, their attempts have the authentic ring of kid ingenuity at work.” — Publishers Weekly

“A sprightly girl with double buns in her dark hair and a tiny, squat penguin realize being brave is easy when you have a friend close by (glow-in-the-dark stickers help, too). Maynor, in her picture-book debut, tackles an oft-addressed phobia in an appreciated nonbedtime setting.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

01/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—Ella and Penguin are wonderful friends, and Ella has a surprise-new stickers! But these aren't just any stickers; they're glow-in-the-dark stickers. However, in order to see them, Penguin will have to go into the scary dark of the closet and he doesn't like that idea at all. They try the stickers in other not quite dark enough places, such as under an umbrella, in a laundry basket, or even in the bathtub with the shower curtain closed—but with no luck. Finally, Ella is able to convince Penguin to give the closet a try. The wonder of the glow-in-the-dark stickers proves to be worth facing the dark, showing that maybe it's not so scary after all. The watercolor and pencil illustrations are sweet and add a subtle humor to the story and the soft lesson it's teaching. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase.—Ashley Prior, Lincoln Public Library, RI

School Library Journal

2015-09-21
A little girl and a penguin conquer their shared fear of the dark. Ella shows Penguin a sheet of astronomical stickers. The stars, rockets, and planets are special because they glow in the dark. But in order to see the glow, Ella and Penguin must go in the closet (a place where there might be spiders, big dogs, and maybe even narwhals). As they peer cautiously inside, Ella accurately points out, "The dark is so…dark." They quickly amend their plan and find a place that is only somewhat dark. However, neither hiding in the bathtub, crouching under a laundry basket, nor ducking under umbrellas works. They must face their fear and enter the closet. They do so, flipper-in-hand, gripping tightly. A pitch-black spread heightens the reveal. "Penguin," Ella admonishes, "Open your eyes." A soft-hued phosphorescence lights up Ella's and Peguin's surprised faces. The dark is not so scary after all. In fact, it's beautiful! (Bonnet's control of lighting within her illustrations is all the special effects the book provides; the pages are not actually glow-in-the-dark themselves.) A sprightly girl with double buns in her dark hair and a tiny, squat penguin realize being brave is easy when you have a friend close by (glow-in-the-dark stickers help, too). Maynor, in her picture-book debut, tackles an oft-addressed phobia in an appreciated nonbedtime setting. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews