Flora and the Penguin

by Molly Idle

Overview

Having mastered ballet in Flora and the Flamingo, Flora takes to the ice and forms an unexpected friendship with a penguin. Twirling, leaping, spinning, and gliding, on skates and flippers, the duo mirror each other's graceful dance above and below the ice. But when Flora gives the penguin the cold shoulder, the pair must figure out a way to work together for uplifting results. Artist Molly Idle creates an innovative, wordless picture book with clever flaps that reveal Flora and the penguin coming together, spiraling apart, and coming back together as only true friends do.

For more feathery fun, pick up Flora and the Flamingo, Flora and the Peacocks, Flora and Friends Matching Game or, coming soon, Flora and the Chicks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452128917
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	09/30/2014
Series:	Flora & Friends Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	292,988
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Molly Idle began her career as an artist working for DreamWorks Animation, and from there she leapt into the world of children's books. She lives in Tempe, Arizona.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/18/2014
Idle reprises the structure and format of her Caldecott Honor–winning Flora and the Flamingo in this wordless wintry companion, which is every bit as graceful a performance for both Flora and her creator. A thick sheet of ice serves as the canvas for Flora’s skating performance with a penguin that has climbed up onto the ice; a cutaway view of the pale blue-violet water below shows a school of fish doing a dance of their own. Small glued-in flaps help create a sense of movement, and also explore the brief rift that forms between Flora and the penguin after the bird dives back below the ice in pursuit of a fish. Once again, Idle’s elegantly drafted scenes couldn’t be more polished, and the foldout sequence that brings this dance to a close feels like a real triumph. Ages 3–5. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"It's also, thus far, one of my very favorite picture books of all of 2014." —BookPage

"It's also, thus far, one of my very favorite picture books of all of 2014." —BookPage

"It's also, thus far, one of my very favorite picture books of all of 2014." —BookPage

"A real triumph."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A real triumph."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A real triumph."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Funny and charming-a winning, worthy follow-up."—Kirkus Reviews

"Funny and charming-a winning, worthy follow-up."—Kirkus Reviews

"Funny and charming-a winning, worthy follow-up."—Kirkus Reviews

"It's clearly another winner."—Common Sense Media, 5-star review

"It's clearly another winner."—Common Sense Media, 5-star review

"It's clearly another winner."—Common Sense Media, 5-star review

"What a wonderful story it is, about the excitement of making new friends, soothing hurt feelings, and becoming friends again."—Cool Mom Picks

"What a wonderful story it is, about the excitement of making new friends, soothing hurt feelings, and becoming friends again."—Cool Mom Picks

"What a wonderful story it is, about the excitement of making new friends, soothing hurt feelings, and becoming friends again."—Cool Mom Picks

"Rings with the real emotion of friendship found, lost, and found again... a charmer."—Booklist

"Rings with the real emotion of friendship found, lost, and found again... a charmer."—Booklist

"Rings with the real emotion of friendship found, lost, and found again... a charmer."—Booklist

"Readers will surely enjoy the lively and lovely performance of Flora and Penguin."—Flora and the Penguin

"Readers will surely enjoy the lively and lovely performance of Flora and Penguin."—Flora and the Penguin

"Readers will surely enjoy the lively and lovely performance of Flora and Penguin."—Flora and the Penguin

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2014
PreS-K—Idle's bold and balletic Flora is back in another wordless adventure, this time infused with icy blue, to skate with a penguin. The simple story is told entirely in pictures—featuring only a few colors on a white background—that are eloquent and irresistible. As in Flora and the Flamingo (Chronicle, 2013), small page flaps advance the story and establish the relationship between the two well-defined characters. There a simple conflict and a satisfying resolution, made more dramatic with a glorious gatefold. Preschoolers will enjoy narrating the action while they flip through the pages of this beautiful book.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

School Library Journal

2014-08-06
The irrepressible Flora returns for an encore avian duet, this time on ice with a penguin.Similar in feel to Idle's Caldecott Honor book, Flora and the Flamingo (2013), this wordless picture book follows Flora as she dons her ice skates, spies an intriguing beak poking up through the ice and begins her balletic adventure. Bird and girl meet and greet, then glide, twirl and pirouette together on the ice. Their newfound harmony is disrupted when the penguin spies a fish and disappears rapidly through a hole in the ice, causing Flora to glide away in a sulk. But wait! He was not ignoring her, just bringing her a gift! Having no use for a fish, she casually flips it back into the water, much to the penguin's chagrin. Now both are in a huff, and Flora grumpily removes her skates. The dangling lace gives her an idea, and she creatively uses it as a fishing line. Penguin is appeased, and now both are engaged in common pursuits, fishing and dancing. Idle's restrained palette of icy blues and soft grays combined with fluid composition that always leads the eye to the next scene in the drama keep the wordless narrative effortlessly flowing along. Small double-sided flaps on some of the pages expand the visual vocabulary, and a subtle message about friendship and compromise is conveyed.Funny and charming—a winning, worthy follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews