I love it when a book seems to magically fit in with BookBairn's current games, play and interests. And for the recent while she ha...

BookBairn is Actually a Penguin!

Saturday, January 06, 2018 BookBairn 4 Comments


I love it when a book seems to magically fit in with BookBairn's current games, play and interests. And for the recent while she has been absolutely obsessed with penguins and in particular she loves Happy Feet Two, listening to Oliver Jeffers's 'Lost and Found' on audiobook, and the penguin scene from Mary Poppins. And she loves the penguin dressing up outfit kindly given to us by a friend whose children had outgrown it! She loves waddling around in it like a penguin and she thought it was really funny that I served her (pretend) fish for her lunch. Her imagination is really beginning to flourish and I love watching her play.

In 'I am Actually a Penguin' by Sean Taylor and Kasia Matyjaszek, the little girl in the story loves dressing up and her current favourite thing to dress up as is a penguin. She insists on wearing the penguin suit at all times: to the supermarket, on the train, in bed, even to her aunties wedding! Her parents are less than impressed, but as many of you will probably know (or at least surmise) a toddler's will power is pretty impenetrable.

Things get a little more out of control as she starts to act more and more like a penguin - covering the house in toilet paper to make it snow, insisting on sliding down the stairs on her tummy and letting her brother throw his fish fingers and trying to catch them in her beak. But as with all things toddler-y the penguin suit gets grubbier and grubbier and the tomato ketchup covered fish fingers are the last straw. Mum, Dad and her brother insist that she takes it off and gets it washed. So she does. And then she finds another costume to try...

This is such a funny story that really captures the imaginative play and willpower of a toddler! You will no doubt see your own children in this book as you read and BookBairn certainly sees herself in it. The illustrations are brilliant and you can really feel the movement of the little penguin-girl throughout the story as she waddle and slides from page to page. I particularly love when she visits the penguins at the zoo!

Fortunately BookBairn is generally happy to take her penguin outfit off at the end of the day! And I'm glad she hasn't tried sliding down the stairs on her tummy! I'm pretty sure this penguin obsession will last a while longer - so I think we are overdue a trip to the Aquarium or the Zoo to see the penguins waddling and swimming for real.

Do penguins read books? Perhaps not. So maybe she couldn't be a penguin forever.

Happy reading (and waddling),
Mummy and Book-Penguin-Bairn xx





*Disclaimer: These books were sent to us by the publisher and we were truly delighted to receive them. Words and opinions are our own.


4 comments:

  1. I’m definitely up for a waddle to the Aquarium but please make sure I don’t come back as a penguin.

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    1. Hehe! A whole series of penguin books to read Papa Penguin!

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  2. I love that book and I think BookBairn might actually be a penguin!

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    1. She might be! One that eats cookies though!

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