Penguin's Christmas Wish

by Salina Yoon

Overview

Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator Salina Yoon's beloved character Penguin celebrates the season in Penguin's Christmas Wish—a charming picture book that's perfect for the holidays.

Penguin can't wait to celebrate Christmas with his family and friends. But when things don't go exactly as planned, Penguin learns to find holiday magic in the most unexpected places.

Countless readers have already come to love the adorable Penguin, and Salina Yoon continues this series with a timeless story of holiday magic and the importance of family and friends.

Don't miss these other books from Salina Yoon!

The Penguin series
Penguin and Pinecone
Penguin on Vacation
Penguin in Love
Penguin and Pumpkin
Penguin's Big Adventure
Penguin's Christmas Wish

The Bear series
Found
Stormy Night
Bear's Big Day

The Duck, Duck, Porcupine series
Duck, Duck, Porcupine
My Kite is Stuck! And Other Stories
That's My Book! And Other Stories

Be a Friend

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681191553
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Penguin Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	410,803
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Salina Yoon is an award-winning author/illustrator of nearly 150 books for children, such as Penguin and Pinecone, Penguin on Vacation, Penguin in Love, Penguin and Pumpkin, Penguin's Big Adventure, Penguin's Christmas Wish, Found, Stormy Night, Bear's Big Day, and Be a Friend, as well as the Duck, Duck, Porcupine chapter book series—including the Geisel Honor winner My Kite is Stuck!. She studied art and design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and now lives in San Diego with her family.

www.salinayoon.com www.facebook.com/PenguinandPinecone

Editorial Reviews

09/26/2016
Spending time with friends and loved ones is a big part of what makes the holidays special; when one of those friends is a pine tree, so much the better. This fifth Penguin picture book sees the return of Pinecone, whom Penguin befriended in his first picture book in 2012. Now fully grown, Pinecone becomes the perfect Christmas tree for Penguin, Pumpkin, and their fellow penguins, but after a storm blows away the ornaments on the tree and the presents underneath it, Penguin uses a bit of ingenuity to create replacement gifts (sticks, it turns out, make great knitting needles, drumsticks, and fishing rods). With their rough black outlines and bright colors, Yoon’s digital graphics again create a cozy polar environment for the story, which emphasizes creativity, togetherness, and generosity as key elements for a memorable Christmas. Up to age 3. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Yoon's distinctive illustrations use simple shapes, bold colors, and thick, black outlines to delineate the characters against snowy backgrounds . . . Grandpa's touching words about the meaning of Christmas and Penguin's sweet presents of sticks add depth to this unassuming but satisfying story.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Yoon’s digital illustrations of Penguin and his pals are as heartwarming as ever . . . Penguin’s good-hearted earnestness has won him plenty of admirers, and this holiday tale won’t turn them away.” - Booklist

“With their rough black outlines and bright colors, Yoon’s digital graphics again create a cozy polar environment for the story, which emphasizes creativity, togetherness, and generosity as key elements for a memorable Christmas.” - Publishers Weekly

“The noncommercial message and charmingly illustrated characters will surely delight fans of this picture book series.” - School Library Journal

“A sweet, visually striking story of friendship and acceptance.” - starred review, Booklist on BE A FRIEND

“A launchpad for discussions of individuality . . . A delightful story about the celebration of individuality and friendship.” - Kirkus Reviews on BE A FRIEND

“Yoon manages to create visual dynamism . . . The simple narrative offers an opportunity for prediction and allows for text-to-self connections.” - School Library Journal on PENGUIN'S BIG ADVENTURE

“The lovable Penguin’s chunky persona exudes expressive emotion.” - Booklist on PENGUIN'S BIG ADVENTURE

“Readers will respond to this warm tale of finding love.” - Kirkus Reviews on PENGUIN IN LOVE

“A thoughtful, flawlessly executed exploration of theory of mind and emotional intelligence.” - starred review, Publishers Weekly on FOUND

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—In the title character's sixth adventure, he leads his family from their icy home to the heart of the forest, where Pinecone (introduced in the first book) has grown into a tall tree—perfect for Christmas adornments. After a pleasant trimming party, all go to sleep with heads full of wishes. But during the night, a blizzard wreaks havoc. In the morning, not only are all the decorations gone but so are the presents. Grandpa reminds everyone that the true joy of Christmas is being with loved ones, but Penguin goes off into the snow and returns with creative gifts to fulfill each wish but his own. His wish had been to share Christmas with the whole forest. As the sun melts the snow, the ornaments are discovered on the surrounding trees. Old and new friends gather at nightfall to see the beautiful array, making Penguin's wish come true after all. VERDICT The noncommercial message and charmingly illustrated characters will surely delight fans of this picture book series.—Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-08-17
Cheerful little Penguin continues to expand his world with a story about celebrating Christmas with friends and family. On Christmas Eve, Penguin, little brother Pumpkin, friend Bootsy, and Grandpa pack up ornaments, Christmas lights, and presents and set out in search of a Christmas tree. They decorate Penguin’s first pal, Pinecone, as their tree, but during the night a blizzard blows everything away. Penguin improvises presents from sticks, and the group has a fine Christmas day. By nighttime, they realize the decorations and presents are stuck in nearby trees in the forest, and other animals arrive for a larger celebration with multiple Christmas trees. Yoon’s distinctive illustrations use simple shapes, bold colors, and thick, black outlines to delineate the characters against snowy backgrounds. Each penguin has a distinguishing characteristic (hat, scarf, or hair bow) to help children keep the characters straight. The spread with many trees sharing the decorations is a little hard to decode at first, as it is illustrated from an overhead perspective, and it’s hard to tell that the green circles with white streaks are evergreen trees with snow on the branches. But understanding different perspectives is part of visual literacy, and the final spread shows the trees from a more conventional side view. Grandpa’s touching words about the meaning of Christmas and Penguin’s sweet presents of sticks add depth to this unassuming but satisfying story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews