The Pirate and the Penguin
Raincoast Books/OwlKids Books
Age 3-5, 5-8
32 pages
by Patricia Storms
Synopsis from Raincoast Books:
Penguin is not your typical Antarctic bird. While his contented friends spend their days daydreaming, practicing yoga, and daydreaming about practicing yoga, this free spirit is planning his great escape. He’s done with the frigid, barren expanse of the South Pole. He’s had it with the communal escapades of his feathered fraternity. He wants adventure! Pirate, on the other hand, wants no part of his crew’s raucous, adventurous ways. Exploration? Treasure? Conquest? Bah! This captain longs for a simpler life. Free from his itchy sunburns and the endless travel. Loosely based on The Prince and the Pauper, The Pirate and the Penguin is the tale of two misfits — of how they find each other and, in the process, find the lives they’ve been seeking all along.
The Pirate and the Penguin is such a cute story. I love how Patricia takes the two stories and meshes them together, in both her writing and her illustrations. The map showing the intertwining routes the Penguin and Pirate take before they meet is wonderful. The tale itself is silly but I think that’s one reason my kids love it that much more. My son of course loves anything with Pirates. My kids loved the little elements to the illustrations Patricia added, like the different pirate maps; map to the bathroom was my son’s favourite.
The Pirate and the Penguin is a fun story about breaking out of what’s expected. In a fun way it helps illustrate that you don’t have to always do what everyone else is doing or what is expected of you. There may not be a lot of female designers but if my daughter wanted to be one she could. This story is great to having those kinds of conversations.
My daughter and I were very fortunate to have met Patricia Storms at Word on the Street festival one year. She did a great skit of this very story. It’s easy to see why we like The Pirate and the Penguin so much since it’s creator is so friendly and fun. Her personality comes through in her book and that’s fantastic.
You can add The Pirate and the Penguin to your personal library by visiting your local book store or visiting Raincoast Books. Visit our Kid’s Books section for other great book recommendations. What are you reading with your kids?
I have to thank Crystal from Raincoast Books for my review copy.