Penguin and Pumpkin
(Penguin)

In Yoon's fourth book about Penguin, the affable bird and his posse travel onboard a piece of ice to see what fall looks like away from the cold and snow. But Penguin's younger brother, Pumpkin, is too young to come along: "I'm sorry, Pumpkin. But it's too far for a fledgling," Penguin tells him. Once the penguins arrive on a distant farm filled with pumpkins, they collect a harvest bounty, including leaves and pumpkins of all different shapes and sizes. After floating back home in one of the giant hollowed-out gourds, the travelers share their experience and goods with loved ones, including Pumpkin, who imagined autumn in locales as far-flung as outer space during his brother's absence. As in the previous books, Yoon creates an idiosyncratic cartoon world of heavy outlines and flat pools of color. Her squat, chunky penguins and their quirky adventures should find a sweet spot with toddlers. Ages 3-6. (July)

PreS-K--In his third adventure, Penguin is curious about what autumn looks like, so he and six of his friends decide to go to a farm to find out. Penguin's baby brother, Pumpkin, wants to come too, but the trip is deemed too far for him. Through the long journey across the ocean, comical spot art shows time passing: the iceberg on which the group rides grows smaller and smaller, until the penguins are left swimming to shore. In the farm's pumpkin patch, every pumpkin reminds Penguin of his brother back at home, and so he plans a special surprise. Upon their return, they find that Pumpkin managed to pass the time imagining what fall would be like in outer space. Bright digital art with bold outlines and succinct narration with some dialogue make this story well suited for reading aloud. Occasionally the story line seems to totter off course, but fans of Penguin won't mind a bit.--Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA