Five Flying Penguins

By: Barbara Barbieri McGrath / Illustrated by: Stephanie Fizer Coleman Five little penguins are content in the cold—until they spot a menacing seal! With a rhyming narrative that counts to five, adorable penguins are soaring—or flying—through the sea, trying to elude a lurking creature. But as young readers of this charming tale will discover, a friendly seal is only looking to play a game of tag. If you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: Five Hiding Ostriches Octopus Escapes [TABS] Look Inside Author & Illustrator Barbara Barbieri McGrath, author Barbara Barbieri McGrath has written over twenty books for children, including The Little Gray Bunny, The Little Red Elf, and many bestselling math concept books. Her love for writing, children and making learning fun was the inspiration for her first children's book, The M&M Brand Counting Book, which sold over 1 million copies. She lives in Natick, Massachusetts. Stephanie Fizer Coleman Stephanie Fizer Coleman is an illustrator with a penchant for color and texture. Having grown up in a rural area surrounded by nature, it's no surprise that furry and feathered creatures are her favorite subjects to draw. When she's not drawing, Steph can be found sipping tea and reading books. She lives in West Virginia with her husband and two dogs. Awards & Honors Coming soon! Editorial Reviews Kirkus Reviews Five little penguins shoot the breeze—until a seal arrives to eat them. As the quintet sit "on the ice… / The first one [says], ‘Today feels very nice!' " Cue the counting as the second and third penguins make their own rhythmic and rhyming observations about the weather. But the fourth and fifth penguins have something else on their mind: the seal that wants them "for a meal!" The penguins dive into the water, making a huge splash as they "swim, swim, swim" and "[fly] through the sea." When they've "lost the seal at last" (as the third penguin opines), they rise up for air and find the seal trailing after them. Rather than a grim final page turn, the book ends as the "sneaky, silly seal" tags one of the penguins to be "it." In a nice twist on the counting-book formula, all five penguins are a different species. Though these species are not labeled, they appear to be king, macaroni, gentoo, chinstrap, and rockhopper penguins—all of which actually can live in the same Antarctic region. However, that a seal—a natural predator of the penguin—would play tag breaks with scientific consistency. Coleman's digital illustrations are set in cool tones, making the orange of the penguins' beaks pop against the frigid backgrounds. Careful readers will notice the seal approaching in every picture. Not a must—but a cool one to share with young penguin fans. Downloadables Download the Cover Details Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-58089-805-8 E-book ISBN: 978-1-63289-650-6 EPUB ISBN: 978-1-63289-651-3 PDF Ages: 3-7 Page count: 32 9 x 9 Correlated to Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 1. Standards 1-4, 6-8, 10 English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 2. Standards 1-4, 6-8, 10 [/TABS]