Puffling http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Puffling-Margaret-Wild-Julie-Vivas/9781862915985?ref=314&affiliate_banner_id=1

By Margaret Wild, Julie Vivas

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1-This feel-good story about the early weeks in the life of a puffling offers children a glimpse at the bird's life cycle and a predictable analogy between its loving family and those of readers. Big Stripy Beak and Long Black Feather care for their hatchling in the burrow where they live and warn Puffling not to leave else he should fall prey to scary gulls that wait for such a misstep. The cute little puffling does as he's told and grows stronger, bigger, and braver until finally he is ready to leave his parents and join his friends in the sea, looking forward to making a family of his own. Vivas's lovely pastel and pencil illustrations manage to convey recognizable human emotions and still maintain their naturalistic integrity.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Vivas's meticulously drafted pastels distinguish this coming-of-age story by the team behind Our Granny. Big Stripy Beak and Long Black Feather, a pair of loving puffin parents, prepare Puffling for his launch into the wide world, where scary gulls wait just outside the opening of his burrow, and the sea, teeming with puffins, beckons beyond. The roundness of the birds' bellies is sculpted with hundreds of evenly stroked white lines, while glowing sea-green linework makes nocturnal scenes come alive. As Puffling grows, his parents feed him, coach him on what's to come ("When you are strong enough and tall enough and brave enough, you'll leave the burrow all by yourself"), and reassure him that all is going according to plan ("Am I brave enough?" Puffling asks. "Almost," his parents reply). If some younger readers are disturbed by the parents flying away and leaving Puffling to brave the world on his own, most will identify with his nascent sense of independence and adventure-and the confidence Puffling demonstrates when he successfully makes the big plunge. Up to age 5. (Nov.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.