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Penguins Don't Wear Sweaters!

by Marikka Tamura (Author) Daniel Rieley (Illustrator)

Penguins Don't Wear Sweaters!
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Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
cms Common Sense Media Review
Now available in board book, this charmingly told story celebrates penguins and preserving their environment. You may have seen the cute pictures of penguins wearing sweaters--but did you know why they were wearing them? Find the answer in this colorful, kid-friendly book. Everyone loves penguins, so when they encounter an oil spill, humans in Big Boots arrive to help. At first they knit sweaters to keep the penguins warm. The Big Boots mean well, but . . . penguins don't wear sweaters! The humans discover that there are better ways to help them. So after a good, soapy scrub, the penguins dive back into the deep blue sea, happily dressed only in their own penguin feathers.
cms Common Sense Media Review
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School Library Journal

Starred Review

PreS-K--Penguins don't wear sweaters unless there is an oil spill and lots of well-meaning knitters think it would be a good idea to send them something to put on. Fortunately, these Australian penguins had to wear the sweaters just long enough for a photo shoot, and then people who really knew how to care for penguins washed them up and released them to enjoy penguin things once the water was cleared of oil. Penguins huddling, cuddling, waddling, and gliding through the deep blue sea, even looking in consternation at the oily water, are as adorable as they come in these bright and stylized illustrations. VERDICT This book could be the inspiration for budding environmentalists. An author's note explains the true story that it's based on.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Kirkus

A cautionary tale for young readers about the aftermath of oil spills near penguin habitats. . . . Tamura's well-told tale of ecological disaster and proper penguin rescue is told in rhythmic but not rhyming couplets. Her author's note references an actual event on Phillip Island, Australia, and explains how knitted garments are actually harmful for penguins. Rieley's digitized pencil, ink, and handmade textures are appealing. His palette of blues and whites for the ocean, sky, and ice provides a perfect setting, both aerial and eye-level, for the penguins. The knitted sweaters, with close-ups of needles in action, are colorful if inappropriate for the recipients.

ALA/Booklist

A glimpse of penguin activity, threats against their livelihood, a warning against misguided rescue attempts, and a suggestion to look beyond the headlines and news feeds. . . . An afterword explains that this is based on an actual event. . . . Engaging story . . . told through brief, clipped sentences that move the narrative. The illustrations are simple, reflecting the penguins' barren habitat, yet they contain a good amount of energy and interesting perspectives. The black-and-white birds are adorable, dignified, and look especially engaging in the knitted sweaters they aren't supposed to be wearing!

Hornbook

The be-sweatered penguins look adorable . . . in Rieley's crisp-lined, ice-cool-colored mixed-media art, they resemble a dorky barrel-chested, fashion coordinated singing group. . . Tamura hints at her larger, worthy point in the last pages of this gentlest of cautionary tales: when there's a problem, beware the easy fix, even when the fix is unbelievably cute.

Review quotes

"A useful book to reinforce the need to prevent oil spills by highlighting their effects on the animals that depend on the oceans."—School Library Connection

Marikka Tamura
Marikka Tamura is a Children's Book Art Director who lives in New York City. Penguins Don't Wear Sweaters! is her debut picture book.

Daniel Rieley is a British freelance illustrator. He studied at The Arts Institute Bournemouth, and his illustration projects include picture books, advertising, print, and card design.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781101996966
Lexile Measure
440
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication date
January 20, 2018
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002040 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Birds
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
Penguins
Wildlife rescue
Board books
Oil spills
Ecofiction

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