Flora and the Penguin

Starred review from August 18, 2014
Idle reprises the structure and format of her Caldecott Honor–winning Flora and the Flamingo in this wordless wintry companion, which is every bit as graceful a performance for both Flora and her creator. A thick sheet of ice serves as the canvas for Flora’s skating performance with a penguin that has climbed up onto the ice; a cutaway view of the pale blue-violet water below shows a school of fish doing a dance of their own. Small glued-in flaps help create a sense of movement, and also explore the brief rift that forms between Flora and the penguin after the bird dives back below the ice in pursuit of a fish. Once again, Idle’s elegantly drafted scenes couldn’t be more polished, and the foldout sequence that brings this dance to a close feels like a real triumph. Ages 3–5. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words.

September 1, 2014
The irrepressible Flora returns for an encore avian duet, this time on ice with a penguin.Similar in feel to Idle's Caldecott Honor book, Flora and the Flamingo (2013), this wordless picture book follows Flora as she dons her ice skates, spies an intriguing beak poking up through the ice and begins her balletic adventure. Bird and girl meet and greet, then glide, twirl and pirouette together on the ice. Their newfound harmony is disrupted when the penguin spies a fish and disappears rapidly through a hole in the ice, causing Flora to glide away in a sulk. But wait! He was not ignoring her, just bringing her a gift! Having no use for a fish, she casually flips it back into the water, much to the penguin's chagrin. Now both are in a huff, and Flora grumpily removes her skates. The dangling lace gives her an idea, and she creatively uses it as a fishing line. Penguin is appeased, and now both are engaged in common pursuits, fishing and dancing. Idle's restrained palette of icy blues and soft grays combined with fluid composition that always leads the eye to the next scene in the drama keep the wordless narrative effortlessly flowing along. Small double-sided flaps on some of the pages expand the visual vocabulary, and a subtle message about friendship and compromise is conveyed.Funny and charming-a winning, worthy follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)

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Starred review from November 1, 2014

PreS-K-Idle's bold and balletic Flora is back in another wordless adventure, this time infused with icy blue, to skate with a penguin. The simple story is told entirely in pictures-featuring only a few colors on a white background-that are eloquent and irresistible. As in Flora and the Flamingo (Chronicle, 2013), small page flaps advance the story and establish the relationship between the two well-defined characters. There a simple conflict and a satisfying resolution, made more dramatic with a glorious gatefold. Preschoolers will enjoy narrating the action while they flip through the pages of this beautiful book.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
When her penguin figure-skating partner plunges under the ice, Flora (Flora and the Flamingo) is put out. The penguin produces a fish for her, but Flora, miffed, throws the fish back...then thinks of a creative way to make amends. Dynamic flaps help set a rhythmic pace in this wordless story; a limited palette of pale blue, yellow, and the white of the page befits the wintry scene.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2014
Having mastered the art of the dahhnce in Flora and the Flamingo (rev. 7/13), the same little-girl protagonist takes up figure skating. While lacing up her skates, she spies an orange beak peeking out of a hole in the ice. It's a penguin, and Flora reaches out her hand in friendship. At first there's no friction; the two glide across the ice, Torvill and Dean-style, skating backwards and on one foot and performing synchronized leaps. When her partner plunges back down under the ice, though, Flora is disappointed and a little put out. The penguin produces a fish for her, but Flora, still feeling miffed, throws the fish backthen thinks of a creative way to make amends. Just as in the previous wordless book, dynamic flaps (this time they're horizontal and two-sided) help set a graceful, rhythmic pace. The limited color palette, too, recalls Flamingo, though here -- befitting the wintry scene -- the pictures are all in pale blues, with yellow pops of color (Flora's hat looks like her Flamingo bathing cap but with a puffball tassel on top), some pink (her peaches-and-cream complexion), and the white of the page. The main action is on land, but underwater there's another playful story starring those sleek little fish. A gatefold near the end provides the tale's acrobatic climax before the warm-hearted pair skates off the copyright page. elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)