Author: Polly Dunbar
Ages: 2+
Back in the nursery, my DS2 wasn't quite the talker. When he ended up making friends, I was honestly quite surprised. More so when I silently watched them interact. It was completely a one-way exchange with my DS2 remaining the mute conversationalist while his friend was more than making up for the loss in conversation with his animated speech. Both of them were so deeply engrossed although DS2 was only supplying the odd nod or a tiny smile. It was wonderful to see how very different they both were, yet how easily they accepted that and enjoyed their time.
Penguin is exactly the same. One day Ben receives a penguin as a present. He is so happy to see a new friend and asks Penguin what he wanted to play. Penguin says nothing. Ben then tries to humor the Penguin with silly faces and tricks, but Penguin says nothing.
Now Ben starts getting annoyed. He prods the Penguin, blows raspberries at him, makes fun of him, but Penguin still says absolutely nothing.So Ben ignores Penguin, and ( this bit is so cute!) Penguin ignores him back. Eventually, Ben gets upset, ties Penguin to a rocket and fires him into space. Penguin not just returns back, but says absolutely nothing, not a single word!
A very irritated Ben then tries to feed Penguin to a passing lion, but lion isn't interested in eating him. By then, Ben is infuriated and he shouts out to Penguin to JUST SAY ANYTHING!!. Now the lion swallows Ben as he is so noisy.
The silent Penguin springs immediately into action to rescue his dear talkative friend and bites the lion's nose. The lion spits Ben out and then finally Penguin says...
...everything!
What a beautiful celebration of friendship this book proved to be! You talk to them or you don't, you ignore them, you fight with them, you try to stay away from them, but buddies just know how to save you at the right time, how to make you smile, how to always be there for you when you need it most.
Such a lovely story and I was so moved that I actually had to make Penguin for my DS2 to go with the book, which I got for him in a school fair. ( not quite a replica, but does he bother!)
Polly Dunbar says she wrote Penguin for her brother Ben who gave her the original Pingouin, handmade with velvet in France in 1930. She has received many awards for this book as well. There's more about Penguin and her other books in her website.
As usual, here is a Youtube version, although it is a bilingual version, the book being in spanish!
It really doesn't matter if the story is totally fictional ( talking penguins, lions inside the house swallowing boys!). It is one that the children will quickly relate to, or simply enjoy the beautiful illustrations and Ben's silliness. And Penguin's silent stand! It has been read so many times in our house, and is still a firm favourite!
Just the right book for teeny Penguin fans, this book is truly adorable and a celebration of diversity, acceptance and the spirit of friendship.
Ages: 2+
Back in the nursery, my DS2 wasn't quite the talker. When he ended up making friends, I was honestly quite surprised. More so when I silently watched them interact. It was completely a one-way exchange with my DS2 remaining the mute conversationalist while his friend was more than making up for the loss in conversation with his animated speech. Both of them were so deeply engrossed although DS2 was only supplying the odd nod or a tiny smile. It was wonderful to see how very different they both were, yet how easily they accepted that and enjoyed their time.
Penguin is exactly the same. One day Ben receives a penguin as a present. He is so happy to see a new friend and asks Penguin what he wanted to play. Penguin says nothing. Ben then tries to humor the Penguin with silly faces and tricks, but Penguin says nothing.
Now Ben starts getting annoyed. He prods the Penguin, blows raspberries at him, makes fun of him, but Penguin still says absolutely nothing.So Ben ignores Penguin, and ( this bit is so cute!) Penguin ignores him back. Eventually, Ben gets upset, ties Penguin to a rocket and fires him into space. Penguin not just returns back, but says absolutely nothing, not a single word!
A very irritated Ben then tries to feed Penguin to a passing lion, but lion isn't interested in eating him. By then, Ben is infuriated and he shouts out to Penguin to JUST SAY ANYTHING!!. Now the lion swallows Ben as he is so noisy.
The silent Penguin springs immediately into action to rescue his dear talkative friend and bites the lion's nose. The lion spits Ben out and then finally Penguin says...
...everything!
What a beautiful celebration of friendship this book proved to be! You talk to them or you don't, you ignore them, you fight with them, you try to stay away from them, but buddies just know how to save you at the right time, how to make you smile, how to always be there for you when you need it most.
Such a lovely story and I was so moved that I actually had to make Penguin for my DS2 to go with the book, which I got for him in a school fair. ( not quite a replica, but does he bother!)
Polly Dunbar says she wrote Penguin for her brother Ben who gave her the original Pingouin, handmade with velvet in France in 1930. She has received many awards for this book as well. There's more about Penguin and her other books in her website.
As usual, here is a Youtube version, although it is a bilingual version, the book being in spanish!
It really doesn't matter if the story is totally fictional ( talking penguins, lions inside the house swallowing boys!). It is one that the children will quickly relate to, or simply enjoy the beautiful illustrations and Ben's silliness. And Penguin's silent stand! It has been read so many times in our house, and is still a firm favourite!
Just the right book for teeny Penguin fans, this book is truly adorable and a celebration of diversity, acceptance and the spirit of friendship.
Loved this blog, Goms!and loved the penguin even more. Did you make it? Oh you creative, crafty Goms. M&M are so lucky. I used to particularly like certain books for the illustrations. P wanted to know what "illustrations" were, then I had to take one of Keiko Kasza's books(My lucky day) and tell P of how the pig looks surprised and the fox tired and how the picture "illustrates" the feeling. I think he got it. And later before bed time, I had to tell Lion and the Mouse in Tamil and I told him that the story is re-told by DN (me) and illustrated by PS(him) and he found it so funny! Never realized there was so much to picture books and the impact it makes on the reader until I started reading your blog (although silently I was impacted by these books all along and never realized it).
ReplyDeleteIt's true, isn't it! I can close my eyes now and recollect the illustrations from my fav repeat reads from childhood! Story by DN, illustrations by PS sounds snug for a bed time story :o)
DeleteI know you are into the "real" books but have you ever checked out the Meegenius app for the ipad? There are some good books, very well read aloud. Most of them are old fables and fairy tales but I think they keep adding more titles. But well, you have to buy it to read on your ipad. I would recommend to parents who are trying to get children started on reading and children who like to be read-to (with pauses and exclamations and expressions and tones).
ReplyDeleteThat is nice information, Dhan. While M1 sticks to paper books (the smell, he claims!), M2 can certainly do with some "reading with expression". Will check it out... ( and yes, that penguin was actually my sweater that had a non-mendable rip - one of my many recycling projects!)
DeleteI agree with M1.. I cannot read anything online.. have a kindle which DH bought and never used (neither did I) and we also have an iPad (which we use for other purposes, but not for reading books).. I love the feel of the book, the smell and the seeing the pages getting thicker on the left side and the right side reducing as we approach the end of the book :-)
DeleteWhat about u Gomathy/Dhanya? Do you read electronic copies?
95% paper although I do prefer kindle if it is a midnight read. I do think about paper books not being eco-friendly, but then I draw comfort from the fact that I rarely ever buy them and hence only reuse!
DeleteI still remember the penguin, didn't you make it way back in 2010. And that is when your craze for felt toys and soft toys began, didn't it. You sure are super creative.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like an interesting read!
2010, yes, this was my first ever recycled toy. Loads have been made since then! It is easy to be super creative, all you need is a good internet search string and some time to devote... If you remember, I was always the bad one at crafting back in those days... It was ( and still is ) Pavi who reigned with her lovely artwork!
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