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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Flora and the Penguin, by Molly Idle. Chronicle Books, Raincoast. 2014. $19.99 ages 3 and up


"Some

friendships

take a little

time

to warm  up."

Oh Flora! It's so wonderful to see you again!

Last time we met her Flora was spending her time with a flamingo who shared her love of dance. This time she takes to the ice with a penguin. What else? It's another book without text; and words have no real place in telling its amazing story.

Flora is her effervescent self; she is as happy to meet Penguin as she was when she met Flamingo. Once she has strapped on her skates, Flora is attracted to a tiny beak as it sticks up from the water and through an ice hole. It is all the two need to make an acquaintance, share the love of ice dance, and glide effortlessly over the hard surface. Only one thing can stop them...the penguin's insatiable appetite for fish. When one comes close to the ice surface, he is off.

Flora is miffed and quite sulky about the abandonment. Turns out that the penguin has another motive...the fish is a gift for his new friend! Seems Flora doesn't like fish. She throws it back. Poor Penguin...now, he's mad, too. Flora removes her skates, ready to leave this place that has made her so angry.  Did you see that loose lace? Flora does, and she knows just what to do with it.

How much fun can two friends have when they find a shared love of dancing...and fishing???

The soft blues and grays on each of the spreads, and the gracefully beautiful moves take every reader from page to gorgeous page. The small double-sided flaps add drama and expand the reader's imagination in this charmer of a story about friendship and the need for compromise when new friends are at odds.

Take a trip to the library, or a nearby book store, and add both books to a the book shelf of a favorite little one. They are very special!
                                                                        

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