I lived twenty years in Alaska and one of my happiest memories from my time there, is a train trip my family took down to Seward. We went out of a boat into Resurrection Bay. It was a special trip because my husband was a quadriplegic and that boat ride was his first since he’d broken his neck on his own fishing boat twenty years earlier. It was a really good day.
One of the highlights of the trip was standing on the deck of the boat and watching the puffins. They are quite comical at times. Powerful swimmers that dive down to a hundred and forty feet, they are graceful in the water. But on take-offs and landings? Not so much.
Because I love puffins, I picked up Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme, written and photo illustrated by Bruce McMillan, at the library last week.
And, I mean, come on. If you don’t love puffins, you at least love penguins. Is there a person alive that doesn’t love penguins?
But with puffins AND penguins, Mr. McMillan couldn’t easily fail. I’m happy to report he succeeded beautifully. His book alternates between two-page spreads of puffins and penguins and each spread has a four-word rhyme—”Puffins land. Puffins stand”—that goes along with the pictures.
This is a lovely, lovely book for children just beginning to read (and for those of us who already know how to read but who love puffins and penguins). The children will learn new words (preen, brawl) and enjoy the pictures and rhymes.
And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a video of a puffin misjudging his landing by a foot or so:
This post was written as part of the Nonfiction Monday gathering which is hosted at Simply Science today. Go over there for more posts on nonfiction kid’s books. Thanks!
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tags: kids aquatic bird books, penguins, photo, puffins, review, rhyming book
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Thanks for sharing this book for Nonfiction Monday. I think it sounds perfect for a room full of kdg. early readers.
We love puffins! Sounds like a good book for my early reader. We’ll check it out. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Yes, it’s a great book for kindergarten kids and early readers.