CBR14 BINGO: Cold, because penguins are usually found in cold places (but not always, like those crazy Galapagos penguins, hopping back and forth over the equator like they do).
As I may have mentioned, I’m a big fan of penguins and books about penguins. Many people know this about me, so one day a coworker sent me a message saying she was mailing a little book she found that I might like. She didn’t say what it was but mentioned that she “has to mail it, because it can’t fly.” As soon as I opened the package, this book made me smile. (Smile-inducing cover pictured at left.)
This sweet little novelty book includes not just all the species of penguins, but other seabirds as well. The storm petrel, the sooty shearwater, the crested auklet, and the tufted puffin all get their due. Even the great auk, extinct since 1840, gets a nod.
Each of the 50 birds gets but a scant page of writing dedicated to the species, so this obviously isn’t a deep dive (hah, accidental pun!) into ornithology. Nevertheless, it includes interesting tidbits about the birds as well as some cheeky writing. In the description of the snowy sheathbill, the author describes how resourceful they are in spite of their modest size: stealing eggs from penguins and even grabbing food from chicks’ mouths. “You can’t help but feel for the penguins, though,” Sewell writes. “When they are not getting stalked in the sea by leopard seals and orcas, or bracing for death from above by skuas and giant petrels, they are getting mugged on foot by weird snowy pigeons.”
Other random trivia I learned: The Penguin Books logo is a Humboldt penguin, which the designer saw in the London Zoo in the 1930s. The Adélie penguin is named for the wife of a Napoleonic naval captain who claimed for France the area of Antarctica where they were first recorded. The adorable little blue penguin has a subspecies called the white-flippered penguin which are “more of a stonewash blue compared to the little penguin’s indigo denim,” and who are nocturnal, a unique characteristic among penguins.
The true charm of this book, though, is in the illustrations. In addition to being an avid ornithologist, Matt Sewell is an accomplished illustrator. From the goofy look of the gannet to the perpetual scowl of the crested penguins, his illustrations somehow make my heart feel lighter. Don’t believe me? Exhibit A:
Adélie penguin: So pure!
Still skeptical? Wait for it.. .
Little auk. I’m crying!
During the writing of this review, I learned that Matt Sewell has also published similar books on British songbirds and owls, so I know what’s going on my Christmas list this year. If you go to his website, be sure to check out the utterly wholesome animated banner.
Having this little book on my shelf makes me happy. It is, after all, a known fact that looking at watercolor penguins and seabirds increases joy by 1000%.