Penguin Huddle

by Ross Montgomery, Sarah Warburton (Illustrator)

Overview

A merry band of penguins ventures out of the Antarctic and into the adventure of a lifetime in a quirky, rainbow-bright tale of friendship and community building.

All day long the penguin colony plays and plays, and when the sun goes down and the night grows cold and dark, they squeeze and squish together (“penguin huddle!”) to stay warm and snug. But one morning, after a freezing gale, the penguins find themselves stuck, frozen together like a giant penguin ice pop. When no one in the Antarctic can unstick them (“penguin muddle!”), Pipsqueak, the smallest penguin of all, leads his fellows out of their snowy home to a city across the sea in search of help. Whimsical adventures ensue in this global giggle-fest teeming with colorful details—a warm, wintry treat for fans of penguins, playful antics, and celebratory cuddles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536231311
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	250,430
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Ross Montgomery is the award-winning author of Ten Delicious Teachers, illustrated by Sarah Warburton; Space Tortoise and The Building Boy, both illustrated by David Litchfield; and several highly acclaimed novels. He lives in London.

Sarah Warburton is the illustrator of Ten Delicious Teachers by Ross Montgomery, the Princess series by Caryl Hart, and many other picture books. She lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

A silly, chilly calamity unfolds in the South Pole. . . . The penguins’ wide eyes are incredibly expressive, imbuing their hijinks with hilarity, and there’s plenty of fun vocab sprinkled through. . . . A gleeful ode to friendship and problem-solving.
—Kirkus Reviews

This story is based upon a factual phenomenon, but that base lies far, far down beneath an inky pile of cartoon silliness. Penguins do clump up, especially when cold. Montgomery imagines what might happen if a bunched-up group of penguins iced over so they fused together. . . The illustrations are speckled with sight-gags for adults. . . So, we have a gleefully frivolous situation.
—The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Montgomery’s text is admirably lean without sacrificing humor, vocabulary, and wordplay, while Warburton brings the frozen tundra and the bustling city to life with bright, energetic art that seems to fly, run, and waddle across the page. . . . The length is just right for a story hour, with a smooth flow of action that keeps the plot moving. Readers will enjoy the comedic failed attempts at separating the penguins and cheer when the huddle realizes that their bond is stronger than ever.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/10/2023

PreS-Gr 2—After a particularly blustery night in the South Pole, penguin friends awake to find themselves frozen together, and no amount of wiggling can separate this "giant penguin ice pop." Their Antarctic neighbors are willing but unable to help, and now the penguin huddle is officially a penguin muddle. Pipsqueak, the baby of the bunch, has an idea: they need to take a trip to the big city. There they visit the Doctopus, a cheerful tentacled fellow who shows them that the solution is right at their feet. Montgomery's text is admirably lean without sacrificing humor, vocabulary, and wordplay, while Warburton brings the frozen tundra and the bustling city to life with bright, energetic art that seems to fly, run, and waddle across the page. From the iceberg-dwelling walruses back home to the tiniest fish in the Doctopus's tank, every creature in the book has an expressive face that adds warmth and wit to the characterization. The length is just right for a story hour, with a smooth flow of action that keeps the plot moving. VERDICT Readers will enjoy the comedic failed attempts at separating the penguins and cheer when the huddle realizes that their bond is stronger than ever. Recommended.—Kate Newcombe

School Library Journal

2023-07-26
A silly, chilly calamity unfolds in the South Pole.

One night, while a group of penguins are all huddled together to keep warm against the blowing winds, they wake to find that they are frozen to each other! A few tiny webbed feet poke out here or there, and a flipper or two are free, but the pack is, well, tightly packed, in ice. How can they escape? Their friends attempt to help, but nothing works. Pipsqueak, a tiny penguin with a fuzzy woolen cap and scarf, decides a trip to the city might be their only hope. An albatross carries the “penguin ice pop” across the seas, and a whale takes them the rest of the way. Once they reach the bustling metropolis, populated by anthropomorphic animals, other pals offer solutions (a lobster attempts to snip them free at the barber shop, and beetles try to break the ice at the bowling alley), but the “Doctopus” (a doctor octopus, of course) is the only one who can save the day. The penguins’ wide eyes are incredibly expressive, imbuing their hijinks with hilarity, and there’s plenty of fun vocab sprinkled through—their “huddle” turns into a “struggle,” which is certainly a “muddle” but luckily ends in a “puddle” with a “cuddle.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gleeful ode to friendship and problem-solving. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews