Penguin and Pinecone: A Friendship Story (Penguin)

by Salina Yoon (Author)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
Series: Penguin
Penguin and Pinecone form an unlikely friendship, even when they must live far apart. Full color.
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Kirkus

Crisp illustrations that capture a genuinely loving heart . . . a strong if whimsical choice for those separated from loved ones.

Publishers Weekly

Readers familiar with Frank Asch's Happy Birthday, Moon may think they are in for a similar story: a bighearted animal bonds with an inanimate object and endearingly projects a host of feelings onto it. But in Yoon's story, the object--a pinecone--actually does have a personality. It shivers and sneezes in the cold and enjoys playing with Penguin. But, as Penguin's grandfather tells him, a pinecone "can't grow big and strong on the ice," so Penguin makes a difficult journey to bring his friend to the nearest forest; his labors are rewarded when he returns to the forest years later and finds that Pinecone is now a towering tree--still wearing the scarf that Penguin knit for him. "Penguin and Pinecone may have been far apart," writes Yoon, "but they always stayed in each other's hearts." Yoon's minimalist digital artwork, set mostly along a single plane, feels bracingly wintry with its cool, saturated palette, scratchboard textures, and thick black outlining. Most important, it provides a suitable stage for Penguin to be his kind and generous self. Ages 3-6. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Oct.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--When a curious penguin stumbles upon a pinecone, he doesn't quite know what it is. It doesn't seem to be a snowball, or an egg, or anything to eat, but it does seem to be very cold. Penguin knits it a scarf and thus begins a beautiful friendship. The cartoon illustrations are done with thick rounded lines, bright colors, and plenty of white space to give this story warmth and personality. Pinecone, overall a fairly quiet friend, visibly shivers, says "brrrr," and even starts sneezing. When Penguin's grandpa advocates taking him to the faraway forest where he can thrive, Penguin puts his own loneliness aside for his friend's well being. Though they can't live in the same place, the two remain close always. The spare text and clean illustrations, done in a nice variety of spot art and single and double pages, work well for sharing with a group while the tale provides great opportunities for talking one-on-one. A lovely story of a caring and unselfish friendship.--Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

Yoon's cute, boldly lined characters and graphic compositions tell the story in a series of spots, full-page images, and thought bubbles. This picture book, like many before it, proves that love comes in many forms.

Review quotes

"Yoon's story of an unlikely interspecies friendship is both funny and sweet . . . let's hope that, as the Antarctic Ambassador of Friendship, Penguin, too, shall return in more adventures." - Horn Book Magazine on PENGUIN ON VACATION

"Readers will respond to this warm tale of finding love." - Kirkus Reviews on PENGUIN IN LOVE

Salina Yoon

Salina Yoon is an award-winning author/illustrator of nearly 150 books for children, such as Penguin and Pinecone, Penguin on Vacation, Penguin in Love, Penguin and Pumpkin, Penguin's Big Adventure, Penguin's Christmas Wish, Found, Stormy Night, Bear's Big Day, and Be a Friend, as well as the Duck, Duck, Porcupine chapter book series--including the Geisel Honor winner My Kite is Stuck!. She studied art and design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and now lives in San Diego with her family.

www.salinayoon.com
www.facebook.com/PenguinandPinecone

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780802737311
Lexile Measure
470
Guided Reading Level
I
Publisher
Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books
Publication date
July 22, 2014
Series
Penguin
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV002040 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Birds
JUV029000 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | General
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Penguins
Pine cones
Keystone to Reading Book Award
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Beehive Awards
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Charlotte Award
Winner 2014 - 2014
Colorado Children's Book Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

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