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    Five Flying Penguins

    Author Barbara Barbieri McGrath
    Illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
    Ebook
    Charlesbridge
    On sale Nov 06, 2018 | 32 Pages | 9781632896506
    Preschool - 2
    Reading Level: Lexile AD300L | Fountas & Pinnell F
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    Five little penguins are content in the cold--until they spot a menacing mammal!

    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.
    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. After graduating from Lasell College with a degree in Early Childhood Education, Barbara opened a preschool where she taught 4-5 year olds for sixteen years. 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. View titles by Barbara Barbieri McGrath
    Stephanie Fizer Coleman View titles by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
    Five little penguins, sitting on the ice…
            The first one said, “Today feels very nice!”
            The second one said, “Snow is in the air!”
            The third one said, “But we don’t care!”
            The fourth one said, “Hey, look! Here comes a seal!”
            The fifth one said, “He wants us for a meal!”
    Copyright © 2018 by Barbara Barbieri McGrath (Author); Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator). All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
    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.
    —Kirkus Reviews

    About

    Five little penguins are content in the cold--until they spot a menacing mammal!

    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.

    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. After graduating from Lasell College with a degree in Early Childhood Education, Barbara opened a preschool where she taught 4-5 year olds for sixteen years. 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. View titles by Barbara Barbieri McGrath
    Stephanie Fizer Coleman View titles by Stephanie Fizer Coleman

    Excerpt

    Five little penguins, sitting on the ice…
            The first one said, “Today feels very nice!”
            The second one said, “Snow is in the air!”
            The third one said, “But we don’t care!”
            The fourth one said, “Hey, look! Here comes a seal!”
            The fifth one said, “He wants us for a meal!”
    Copyright © 2018 by Barbara Barbieri McGrath (Author); Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator). All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

    Praise

    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.
    —Kirkus Reviews

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