''Penguin'' is a 2007 award-winning children's

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

Polly Dunbar Polly Dunbar (born 1977) is an English author-illustrator. She is best known for her self-illustrated books ''Penguin (book), Penguin'', the ''Tilly and Friends'' series (which became a BBC children's television series) and ''Hello, Mum'' – an ...

. It is about a boy who receives a penguin as a present and how they interact.

Reception

''Penguin'' has been favourably reviewed, with

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

writing: "Visually, Ben’s contortions and Lion’s aplomb hearken back to early Sendak. While it’s at first unclear whether the immutable Penguin is a stuffed toy, a pet or something else entirely, kids will know—by story’s end at the very latest—that this bird’s a friend. An attractively designed, child-appealing package.".

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

found Dunbar’s "winsome mixed media illustrations carry the day in a story that pulls a few punches on readers", while

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

described it as a "charming, whimsical boy-meets-bird tale." ''Penguin'' has been translated into many different languages. It has stood the test of time, with

Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

publishing a 10th anniversary edition in 2017.

Awards

''Penguin'' won the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Silver Award, the

Red House Children's Book Award The Children's Book Award is a British literary award for children's books, run by the Federation of Children's Book Groups and previously known as the Red House Children's Book Award. Books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar yea ...

for Younger Children and a

Booktrust Early Years Award The Booktrust Early Years Awards, originally the Sainsbury’s Baby Book Award(s), was a set of annual literary prizes for children's picture books. It was administered by Booktrust, an independent charity that promotes books and reading; from ...

. It was also shortlisted for the

Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...

, and was selected by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' as one of the best books of 2007 for children 0 to 3 year olds.

Adaption

''Penguin'' has been adapted for the stage, has played at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and received positive reviews.

References

{{Portal , Children's literature 2007 children's books Children's fiction books Children's books about penguins British picture books British children's books Walker Books books