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onceuponacarm's review against another edition
4.0
I love the illustrations, detail, style, and surprise ending of this book. I'm only giving it 4 stars because I don't like the idea of a kid keeping a penguin as a pet or keeping all these wild animals at an aquarium, but setting my qualms with the key plot element aside, I adore this story. It makes for a great read-aloud for my kindergarteners and 1st graders. I'm sure the older kids would enjoy it, too.
jmitschke's review against another edition
4.0
A dry sense of humor and a brilliant, precocious kid (who kind of reminded me of a male Eloise). Enjoyed the art and typography too.
kristenremenar's review against another edition
4.0
My new favorite penguin book! I love the straight-laced Elliot and the sweet-but-distracted dad who doesn't realize that Elliot's brought home from the zoo a real, live penguin. Kudos for Elliot for bringing his penguin, Magellan, to the library to research what the penguin needs, and huge props to the librarian who "didn't blink an eye" over the live penguin in her library. Cute twist at the end, too!
jwinchell's review against another edition
3.0
This is on the 2014 Monarch list.
This is a classic librarians' picture book: bookish parents make bookish kids, and the pressing need to do more research at the library. It took my preschool boys a few readings to catch on to the dad's turtle thing, but we had fun with the penguin misadventures. I also liked the way thought bubbles and speech clouds were drawn; very good for early learning of text & subtext!
This is a classic librarians' picture book: bookish parents make bookish kids, and the pressing need to do more research at the library. It took my preschool boys a few readings to catch on to the dad's turtle thing, but we had fun with the penguin misadventures. I also liked the way thought bubbles and speech clouds were drawn; very good for early learning of text & subtext!
jessdlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Adorable. One of the quirkiest and funniest children's books I have read in a while!
amelia_herring's review against another edition
4.0
Judging by the cover, I thought this would be kind of like Mr. Popper's Penguins. I was so delightfully surprised at how much I loved it, and the twist at the end had me literally laughing out loud.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
5.0
After my blog partner, Jen, reviewed this on the blog: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/06/one-cool-friend.html - I knew I had to read it. I adore Elliot and Magellan and I love David Small's illustrations. This is the first picture book of his I've read, and I am so glad I did. And I laughed out loud at the twist at the end.
Also it has a penguin in it! I love penguins! And it is about a Magellanic penguin which is the type I adopted! (Though my only issue is that Magellanic penguins live in Chile and Argentina and don't rely on the cold as the book makes it seem though I am glad that they clarified that he was from Argentina.)
More info about adopting a Magellanic penguin here: http://www.seabirds.org/adopt.htm
Also it has a penguin in it! I love penguins! And it is about a Magellanic penguin which is the type I adopted! (Though my only issue is that Magellanic penguins live in Chile and Argentina and don't rely on the cold as the book makes it seem though I am glad that they clarified that he was from Argentina.)
More info about adopting a Magellanic penguin here: http://www.seabirds.org/adopt.htm
cstoeger's review against another edition
4.0
Caldecott Honor Book, 2013.
Elliot is a proper young man. When his father takes him to the aquarium, Elliot decides to bring home a penguin. Not a stuffed one, but a real one.
Elliot is a proper young man. When his father takes him to the aquarium, Elliot decides to bring home a penguin. Not a stuffed one, but a real one.
sasha_in_a_box's review against another edition
5.0
Don't try this at home :) (or do and then you'll be awesome and your dad will like you more)
librariandest's review against another edition
3.0
Awesome illustrations; kind of a weird story. A tuxedo-clad boy visits the aquarium with his dad and comes home with a real live penguin. (His dad seems to think he acquired a stuffed penguin.) The boy and the penguin get into mischief, and are finally caught by the dad. But don't expect the ending you're expecting. The ending surprised me so much I read the book again from the beginning. I'm afraid this will go right over the heads of my four-year-old story time audience, but it might be worth a try.