Little Penguin - Patrick Benson

Little Penguin - Patrick Benson ... insignificant when compared to the much larger Emperor penguins with whom she shares the Antarctic landscape. As she plays in the water and on the snow and ice, she wonders about other animals that come in big and little sizes, like fish, but when she finds a new playmate just her age, a Sperm whale, Pip is no longer worried. And the next time she passes the Emperor penguins, They're big, but not so big, she thinks, and she walks right on by. This little penguin's preoccupation with size is an on-target subject for young listeners who are also attempting to understand their places in the scheme of the larger universe. Benson's illustrations are realistic yet have intrinsic child appeal; because the polar landscape is naturally sparse, readers can focus on Pip and her antics in every picture. Even large areas of black, such as the penguins' backs and the gigantic whale, are softened through the judicious use of crosshatching. The book's gentle humor, the presentation of simple science concepts, and the reassuring conclusion earn it a place on library shelves.