The King Penguin

A positively plucky look at government from a penguin's perspective.

PreS-Gr 1--Percival Penguin is positive he's perfect in his presiding role over his penguin colony; he is a king penguin, after all. But when Percival's pals stop listening to him, he resolves to find other subjects to rule. In the end, Percival learns being in charge doesn't mean bossing everyone around and eating all the fish; he must learn to rule properly. This adorable and hilarious picture book uses bright watercolors and large, easy-to-read black text to tell the tale. The first page, with its individual pictures and names of different penguins that will appear in the book, helps distinguish the penguins from one another, allowing readers to see individuals beyond Percival. Alliteration abounds in the form of hard P's popping up all through the pages. Educators or caregivers reading to children will be laughing along with the silly jokes sprinkled into the illustrations between the text, and kids will enjoy the scrapes Percival finds himself in. VERDICT A joyful story hour read for fans of the classic Mr. Popper's Penguins, or for any child learning to sound out words. Percival and his pals will teach kiddos precisely how to rule.--Jessica Durham

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

In this comedic picture book, Roeder imagines a king penguin lording over penguin peers, based strictly on his royal appellation. Sporting a curled wig, scarlet robe, and gold crown, self-absorbed king penguin Percival soon offends chinstrap, macaroni, and rockhopper penguins with entitled conduct: pilfering others' fish ("Taxes"), and appointing a snowperson as royal advisor. Cast off from the colony, Percival attempts to rule seals ("My slippery subjects!") and other Antarctic critters who inevitably "tried to eat him." Following a run-in with an emperor penguin, he waddles home to reconcile, slowly learning diplomacy. Never mind that penguin species live in distinct colonies--Roeder's goofy acrylic and colored pencil romp doesn't take species too seriously ("So if I'm a macaroni penguin does that make me pasta?" considers one bird. "I think I'm pasta"). Ages 3-5. (Sept.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Humorous alliterative asides, quick quips, and heavily anthropomorphized depictions of adorably squat penguins lift the mood of this whimsical tale that also has a sound message about the dangers of wielding power. —Kirkus

The playful text matches penguin names with individual features, from emperor penguin's laurels to the chinstrappenguin's cute chinstrap. Acrylic paint and colored pencils capture the icy blue of the penguins' setting while keeping backgrounds simple, allowing the focus to be the goofy natures of the penguins and their many silly, often alliterative comments via speech bubble. This will make a laugh-out-loud read. —BCCB