The Emperor's Egg (Read and Wonder)

After Chapman (One Duck Stuck) lures readers with an irresistible cover image of a baby emperor penguin, the author documents the unusual role of the father in the birthing of this winning subject. Emperor penguins make their home in Antarctica, "the coldest, windiest place on Earth." During the region's chilliest season, a female penguin lays one egg and leaves her mate to incubate it; he rests the egg atop his feet, so that his feathery white belly keeps it toasty. "What's more, there's nothing for the father penguin to eat on land.... So that means two whole months with an egg on your feet and no dinner!" Chapman provides naturalistic acrylics of the frozen environment, against cold violet or warm orange backdrops. The blue-white ice and sky offset the charcoal feathers and buttercup-yellow breasts of the birds. Jenkins presents abundant penguin facts in the same conversational voice of Chameleons Are Cool but without the child narrator he used to such strong effect. Yet he achieves a similar tone, for instance, while speculating that the male penguin must be "very, very miserable" as it awaits the egg's hatching and the mother bird's return. Together with artwork that balances realistic details with the penguins' implicit charm, Jenkins's lively text will attract many readers to this tale of one of nature's unique parenting arrangements. Ages 5-8. (Oct.)

K-Gr 3 Martin Jenkins's book (Candlewick, 1999) relates the story of how, after the female penguin lays her egg and goes back to the sea, the male Emperor penguin is responsible for keeping it warm and safe for two months until it hatches. Shortly after the chick arrives, the female returns to feed and care for the baby. The lively text and Jane Chapman's wonderful illustrations will enthrall youngsters. The CD features three tracks: a competently and pleasantly narrated version with sound effects, a read-along version with page-turn signals, and a segment that includes more details about Emperor penguins. This nature story offers abundant penguin facts and can supplement a polar region unit, be paired with "The March of the Penguins" film as well as other recently released books about penguins, and be enjoyed in a listening center.—Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL 

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