365 Penguins

Today marks Penguin Awareness Day.  Who doesn’t love penguins? They look so wonderful in their tuxedos, so well turned out and charming. But, then, I must admit that I have never lived with any. If I did, possibly I’d feel differently—I’d be more circumspect about them, like the family in our book of the day, 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental and Joëlle Jolivet.

In this oversize book—with a 1950s retro style and a palette of black, orange, and blue—a young boy narrates a strange saga. On New Year’s Day the doorbell rings, “Ding dong!” and a package arrives. It contains a penguin, with the note: “I’m number 1. Feed me when I’m hungry.” The young narrator’s father, mother, and sister, Amy, try to determine who sent the package, and then the next day, “Ding dong!” another penguin arrives. A resilient group, the family sets out to master the situation—naming the penguins and feeding them. By the end of January, 31 penguins live in their home. Rather well behaved, the birds watch television as an orderly group—except for a couple who help themselves to food. By the end of February (31 + 28 penguins), the family needs to figure out how to organize them. So father and Amy start stacking penguins. By the time they have three-digit penguins, they admit the problems have escalated—cost of feeding per day, cleaning the penguins, and housing them. To solve the issue of living space, the family builds file cabinets and keeps their charges in order by number. When a blue-footed penguin, Chilly, appears, the drawings provide young readers with all kinds of opportunities to locate him in masses of penguins. Although the whole idea, of course, is preposterous, the family never flinches. They just keep doing the math, making decisions, and trying to keep massive numbers of penguins in order, as “Ding, dong!” each day the doorbell rings.

Finally, the mystery of the penguins is solved; Uncle Victor, the ecologist, arrives. He’s sent them from the South Pole, where their habitat is being threatened, and he will now take them all to the North Pole to start a colony (the science in the book is not quite as good as the math). So he leaves Chilly, and a relieved family. That is until the next day, “Ding dong!” when polar bear number one arrives.

For group or family participation, 365 Penguins offers all kinds of opportunities. The bold drawings can be seen across a room. Outside of Jon Scieszka’s Math Curse, books that teach math have rarely been so much fun. Needless to say, the frequent “Ding dong!” lends itself to responsive reading. Winner of a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Award, 365 Penguins definitely strikes the funny bone of children and adults alike.

On Penguin Awareness Day, I am relieved that I don’t have to organize 14 penguins, much less 365. In comparison, taking care of the Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac seems like a snap!

Here’s a page from 365 Penguins: