Blue Penguin

Though children may struggle to understand its metaphor, at its most basic level, the message of Horácek's timeless story of friendship and community is clear. Its elliptical telling suits the mixed-media illustrations, which emphasize Blue Penguin's loneliness and isolation with broad swathes of highly textured whites and introduce color as much as the Antarctic landscape allows as friendship develops. Sweet.

Horáek's simple story of an outsider earning group approval will resonate with readers, especially those who have themselves experienced ostracism. The mixed-media illustrations brim with hopeful colors (especially icy blues, but also vivid greens and a bright red sun) that reassure readers that all will eventually be well...Most important, Blue Penguin never complains about his situation; instead, he finds his own path to happiness and succeeds because of his positive attitude.

PreS-Gr 2--Blue Penguin feels and acts like a real penguin, but he isn't black-and-white like all the others, and for this reason, he's ostracized. At night, he dreams of rescue by a beautiful white whale, and each morning, he sings to the whale across the ocean. This catches the attention of a little girl penguin, who ventures close, asking to play and learn his song. His lonely days are over. Meanwhile, Blue Penguin is unaware that his song is magically calling the whale to him. Horaček cleverly represents this concept with an image of the white whale like a shadow across the moon. Richly hued blues and greens create an enchanting polar landscape, with splashes of white forming snowy scenes that are sometimes reminiscent of those in Eric Carle's Dream Snow. Paintings that have been cut and pieced back together add dimension. An occasional image of a red-orange sun grows larger as the book progresses, until eventually it completely fills the horizon. VERDICT This gorgeously illustrated story about the ups and downs of being different and the magic of music is recommended for most collections and is a good choice for a storytime about penguins or friendship.--Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

A sensitive, charming story about those who don't quite fit in, the importance of including others, friendship and forgiveness, "Blue Penguin" is a gem. —Reading Eagle (Kendal Rautzhan's "Books to Borrow")