Sleigh Ride, L. Anderson & M. Parish, illustrated by Matt Shanks

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
Ring-ting-tingling too,
Come on, it’s lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

This popular Christmas song filled with mentions of snow and sleighs seems an unlikely choice for an Australian picture book, but illustrator Matt Shanks has given it a very Australian makeover. The words are unchanged, but the sleigh bells belong to an icecream van, and the sleigh is a trailer towed behind it. The ice and snow come from an esky. The pages are also populated with a cast of Australian animals – koalas, wombats, numbats, galahs, echidnas and more are picked up in the icecream van sleigh and end up at the beach where the van’s driver is revealed as a penguin.

Youngsters will love seeing the song interpreted in a beach and outback setting, and there is a bonus CD featuring the song performed by Hum,an Nature and Jessica Mauboy, so they will be able to sing along.

Christmas fun.

Sleigh Ride, by L. Anderson & M. Parish, illustrated by Matt Shanks
Scholastic, 2016
ISBN 9781760276928

Blue Whale Blues, by Peter Carnavas

I’ve got the Blue Whale Blues,
I’ve got the Blue Whale,
BLUE WHALE BLUES.

Whale is singing the blues. He’s sad because he doesn’t know which was the bike he found goes. Luckily his good friend Penguin is there to help him turn it up the right way. But with that problem fixed, Whale finds another, and another. Finally comes the biggest problem of all, when the friends set out to ride thier ‘bike’ and discover that it isn’t a bike at all, but an abandoned shopping trolley.

Blue Whale Blues is a humorous story about friendship and imagination which will have youngsters laughing out loud – and probably telling Whale and Penguin of their mistake long before they realise it for themsleves, with a little help from their friend Turtle. The repeated refrain will encourage them to join in singing the Blue Whale Blues, and the illustrations, using watercolour, collage and digital techniques, will delight.

Lots of fun for preschoolers but adults will smile too.

Blue Whale Blues, by Peter Caranavas
New Frontier, 2015
ISBN 978192505941

Go Jojo Go! by Tessa Bickford & Jennifer Castles

Go Jojo Go!: A Little Penguin on a Big Swim

On Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, half way between Australia and Antarctica, a gentoo penguin named Jojo is born. From the moment she first peeps out of the nest she can’t wait to go to sea, but every time she asks Daddoo or Mummoo ‘Am I ready yet?’ they tell her ‘Not yet, little Jojo, not yet’. First she has to get bigger, grow feathers and learn to swim. When at last she is old enough for her first swim, she finds a whole new world just waiting to explore. Now she’s ready for anything.

Go Jojo Go! is the delightful fictionalised story of a young penguin’s early life, told in first person narrative and supported with beautiful photography supplied by the author from her own time on Macquarie Island.

Go Jojo Go! is well balanced between entertainment and education.

Go Jojo Go!: A Little Penguin on a Big Swim, by Tess Bickford & Jennifer Castles

Allen & Unwin, 2012

ISBN 9781743310175

Eddie Pipper by Janeen Brian ill Emma Stuart

‘Eddie Pipper! Here, now!’

Oh, oh. In his bedroom, Eddie wiped his gleey hands down the sides of his grey school shorts. Glue dried clear. Mum would never know. He stood too quickly and his foot knowced the jar of glue. It tilted – and toppeled! Oh, no! He scooped some of the gooey mixture off the bare wooden floor and plopped it back into the container.

‘Eddie!’

He’d get the rest later. With any luck, it might soak into the floorboards and he wouldn’t have to clean it up.

‘Back soon, Might Penguin,’ he told the sloppy mess of paper strips glued to a couple of balloons.

‘Eddie Pipper! Here, now!’

Oh, oh. In his bedroom, Eddie wiped his gluey hands down the sides of his grey school shorts. Glue dried clear. Mum would never know. He stood too quickly and his foot knocked the jar of glue. It tilted – and toppleed! Oh, no! He scooped some of the gooey mixture off the bare wooden floor and plopped it back into the container.

‘Eddie!’

He’d get the rest later. With any luck, it might soak into the floorboards and he wouldn’t have to clean it up.

‘Back soon, Might Penguin,’ he told the sloppy mess of paper strips glued to a couple of balloons.

Nearly-nine-year-old Eddie Pipper is passionate about penguins. He’d desperately love a penguin as a pet. And he does  have a birthday coming up. But there are more than a few hurdles. First he has to remember to be responsible. Leaving your sister in a pool of ice and forgetting about her, isn’t responsible. No matter how much penguins like it, little sisters don’t. And then there’s the forgetting. His head is so full of penguins and how to get one of his own that there’s not much room for anything else. Like bus money. And Pet Parade.

Many parents will recognise the obsession that can overtake children and consume them to the exclusion of almost everything else. Many children will recognise that longing for something that seems to remain tantalisingly out of reach. And the seeming lack of empathy from those around them. Eddie is a dreamy, yet focussed child (very focussed!) and readers will cheer him on. Eddie Pipper is a new title in New Frontier’s Little Rockets series, targeted at lower- to mid-primary readers. Text is wide-spaced and colour illustrations are dispersed throughout. Stories are fully realised but not over-long, with achievable length chapters. Recommended for lower- to mid-primary readers. And anyone who longs for a pet of their own.

Eddie Pipper

Eddie Pipper by Janeen Brian ill Emma Stuart
New Frontier Publishing 2012
ISBN: 9781921928215

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Papa's Little Penguin, by Anna Pignataro

In a white peppermint world as far as the eye could see lived Papa Penguin and Little Penguin.

Papa Penguin has to go away. Little Penguin is accepting but is not sure what he will do. Papa says that he will return before the moon, and that Little Penguin should guard the icicle mountain. What follows is a day full of activity as Little Penguin whiles away the time until Papa’s return. Only when the time of the moon draws near, does anxiety begin to overwhelm Little Penguin. Papa Penguin does ultimately return, and all is right with their world. The illustrations are soft, loose watercolour and make great use of white space to enhance mood changes.

Papa Penguin probably has to search for food, but this is never stated or explained. And it doesn’t matter because the emotion is the same, no matter why a father has to leave. The absence is felt by a small child. As the day progresses the child is distracted by playing but as the end of day comes, they are reminded that the time for Papa’s return is soon. Waiting is never easy and can be even more difficult for young children. Anna Pignataro captures the essence of that childhood waiting. Papa Penguin is true to his word and Papa’s Little Penguin ends as it began with father and child together and secure. This is re-release of this story, published first in 2008 under the title ‘Brave Little Penguin’.

Papa's Little Penguin

Papa’s Little Penguin, Anna Pignataro
Scholastic 2009
ISBN: 9781741695427

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Brave Little Penguin, by Anna Pignataro

In a white peppermint world as far as the eye could see lived Papa Penguin and Little Penguin.

Little Penguin and Papa Penguin live together, alone, in a cold icy world. Papa Penguin must go away for the day fishing. He promises to be back ‘before the moon’ that night but Little Penguin worries about being alone for so long, and how to fill the time. After a short period of sadness, Little Penguin resolves to be brave. There is an icicle mountain to protect, storm and roll away from. There are imaginary seas to be explored in a trustworthy boat. The day rolls by and begins to fade as Brave Little Penguin waits for Papa Penguin’s return.

Brave Little Penguin is a small format hardback with a royal blue textured hardback cover. Little Penguin and Papa Penguin are shown in a smaller circle on the front cover as if the reader is being granted an eye-glass peek into their world. The story is a simple one of a child finding a way to pass the time until a parent returns. Rather than succumb to loneliness, Little Penguin uses his imagination and transforms the white world into an adventure playground where anything is possible. Anna Pignataro’s characters are soft and appealing and her watercolours are, as always, beautiful. There is plenty of white space, appropriate both in the landscape and the room for a reader to bring themselves close into the story and make it their own. Recommended for 3-6 year olds.

Brave Little Penguin, Anna Pignataro
Scholastic 2008
ISBN: 9781741690835

The Bravest Penguin of All, by Rina A. Foti

It is the day of the Great Penguin Swim Race, and all the penguins are very excited, especially Little Blue Penguin. She is determined to win.

When the other penguins hear this,they laugh. No-one so small has ever won the race.But Little Blue Penguin is not deterred, telling herself over and over that she can do it.

When the race begins, the bigger penguins splash and splatter Little Blue Penguin and tell her to get out of the way, but still she keeps going. She can hear the cheering of the crowd, driving her on.

When the cheering stops, Little Blue Penguin senses something is wrong. A Killer Whale is lurking nearby and all the racers are in danger. Is Little Blue Penguin too small to save her friends?

The Bravest Penguin of All is a delightful story which will charm youngsters (and their parents) with its gentle message. Beautifully complemented by the illustrations of Cathy Abadie, in the blues and greens of the Antarctic environment, and supplemented by a page of penguin and Antarctic facts, The Bravest Penguin of All will appeal to 4 to 8 year olds and is also suitable for classroom collections.

The Bravest Penguin of All, by Rina A. Foti, illustrated by Cathy Abadie
Koala Books, 2002