Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844280659 ISBN 13: 9781844280650

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd, 2007

Ben is delighted when he rips open his present and finds a penguin inside. "Hello, Penguin!" says Ben. Penguin says nothing. Ben tickles Penguin; he pulls his funniest face; he puts on a happy hat, sings a silly song and does a dizzy dance. "Can't you talk?" says Ben. Penguin says nothing. It isn't until a passing lion intervenes that Penguin finally speaks...and when he does, Ben discovers something that was really worth the wait.

About the Author:

Polly is the illustrator of Down the Back of the Chair by Margaret Mahy and author/illustrator of Dog Blue and Flyaway Katie. She has created her own range of delightful greeting cards and thinks that colour is a brilliant way to cheer yourself up - whenever she's feeling grey, she puts on her best pink frock! Polly is the daughter of the distinguished author Joyce Dunbar, with whom she collaborated on the picture book Shoe Baby (978-1-4063-0161-8). Polly lives in Brighton.

From Booklist:

Ben is disappointed that the penguin he receives as a present is mute. He tries everything from tickling it to entertaining it with a song and a dizzy dance, but Penguin doesn't speak. Ben fires Penguin into outer space, but he returns as silent as ever. Then he tries to feed Penguin to a passing lion, but the lion goes after Ben instead. Penguin saves the day and then recounts all of the preceding episodes in his own, pictorial language. The closing scene, in which Penguin responds to Ben's hug by uttering a heart-shaped message, warmly conveys that the adversaries have finally found common ground. Dunbar complements her short, straightforward text with equally spare illustrations, judiciously brightened with color, in which Ben, Penguin, and Lion (and little else) appear on completely white pages. This brief, brisk story will hold the attention of impatient children, while its messages about easing standoffs through communication and mutual respect bears repeated reading. Enos, Randall