Penguin Day: A Family Story, written by Nic Bishop, review by Bethany Bratney

Nic Bishop has put together a gem. Penguin Day introduces southern rockhopper penguins to young readers through a narrative surrounding one penguin family: mother, father, and baby. Every day, Mama penguin goes off to search for food while Papa and Baby remain with the flock. Readers learns about the southern rockhoppers’ habitat, diet, daily life, predators and family groupings through a sweet story that is easy for even the youngest readers to understand. The story even includes an important lesson for children about not wandering away from their parents.

Straight Talk for Librarians: Bishop’s illustrative and stunning photographs are featured on each page, giving each member of the penguin family a face and personality. Penguin Day has enough of a story to be read aloud to a group or shared with just one child as a lap read. My home test subjects (ages 2 & 5) were instantly captivated by the beautiful pictures and managed to learn a lot about southern rockhopper penguins in the process. This book also falls into the special category of books that adults won’t mind reading repeatedly. Animal books are an easy sell, but this one is exceptional.