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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Nice message, good length, and I like the illustrations. Will use for a penguin or polar bear themed storytime.
I wasn't too impressed by the illustrations, but the image of Virgil when the polar bear tells him he is NOT his polar bear and his name is Owen made me laugh out loud. It was the perfect image of someone being absolutely floored by what they just heard.
All in all not that impressive, but it was cute and there is a slight "awwww" moment at the end. I also have a soft spot for polar bears and other arctic critters so I'll give it a 2.5.
All in all not that impressive, but it was cute and there is a slight "awwww" moment at the end. I also have a soft spot for polar bears and other arctic critters so I'll give it a 2.5.
Man, that polar bear is far from home. They're not even on the same pole as penguins....
But, anyways. This is a simple story about treating your friends well, and not being possessive. Virgil the penguin treats Owen the polar bear more like a pet than another intelligent animal, throwing tantrums whenever the bear plays with anyone else. He finally comes around in the end, but I particularly like that there's an entire two-page spread where Virgil is just laying in the snow after having stomped around. He's getting time to calm himself, and that's a pretty good message to send to kids. Sometimes we get angry, but if we take a break, we can bring ourselves back.
For me, this isn't anywhere near an award-winning story, but it was nice. I always want picture books about wild animals to end with some sort of blurb about the actual animals, though, and this lacks that. I have a sequel book to this in my possession, so maybe I'll get lucky there.
But, anyways. This is a simple story about treating your friends well, and not being possessive. Virgil the penguin treats Owen the polar bear more like a pet than another intelligent animal, throwing tantrums whenever the bear plays with anyone else. He finally comes around in the end, but I particularly like that there's an entire two-page spread where Virgil is just laying in the snow after having stomped around. He's getting time to calm himself, and that's a pretty good message to send to kids. Sometimes we get angry, but if we take a break, we can bring ourselves back.
For me, this isn't anywhere near an award-winning story, but it was nice. I always want picture books about wild animals to end with some sort of blurb about the actual animals, though, and this lacks that. I have a sequel book to this in my possession, so maybe I'll get lucky there.
Once I got past the inner monologue in my head about polar bears and penguins NOT living in the same place, I was able to address the issue at hand: should I read this for my polar bear-themed Preschool storytime? I decided I should, and I'm glad I did, because the kids (and grown-ups) really enjoyed this tale about friendship. The illustrations are cute, and the message is clear and light-hearted.
This picture book is about friendship and sharing. It is well illustrated.
Preschoolers at storytime didn't really understand why Virgil was upset and they thought Owen was being mean to Virgil. Kindergarteners got it though.
Simple story about learning how to be a friend. Good for the preschool set.