PENGUIN by Polly Dunbar
We often come across a story book in the library which can create a bit of excitement, which I love. I love it when the children want to hear new stories or even good old favourites. The story, “Penguin” is definitely one of the absolute favourites in the library for the younger children. The book is filled with whimsical and mischievous illustrations and simple text that grasps the childrens attention right from the start.
The story starts with a boy named Ben who rips open his present and finds a penguin inside. Ben says hello to the Penguin but the Penguin says nothing. Ben then asks the Penguin what shall they play. Penguin goes on to say nothing. Ben asks the Penguin if he can talk but again the Penguin says nothing. Ben goes about doing a dizzy dance, he pulls funny faces, he even sings silly songs and many other things to try get Penguin to say something but Penguin just says nothing. Our favourite is when Ben fires Penguin into out space but Penguin comes back to earth without a word. Ben even goes on to try feed Penguin to a lion. What will it take for Penguin to speak? Eventually Lions eats Ben for being too noisy, now this is when the entire group of children burst out laughing as Penguin bites Lion very hard on the nose and Ben shoots out of Lions mouth. Penguin then speaks in Penguin talk and Ben is overly delighted with joy and receives his heart’s desire. This is such a sweet story that makes you laugh from beginning to end.
Some of the questions that come up during the story are,” Why does the Penguin take so long to speak?”
“Why is the Lion blue?”
“Was it Bens Birthday or was it Christmas?”
“How did Ben survive being inside a Lions tummy?”
“Why did he get a Penguin? That is such a strange present to get Mrs Vink.”
“Why did Ben send him to outer space? There is no one out there to talk to.”
My favourite question is, “But how did the Penguin breathe in the box? And how would he have eaten or gone to the toilet? It must have been rather messy in that box…”
There are many other books in this series that the children love i.e. The Hairy Toe and I don’t like Gloria. However, Penguin is still the favourite.
