"One day, Akpa grew too large for his little egg.
He knew it was time to peck a hole through the
shell and peer outside. With one hard peck,
a tiny crack appeared, and a warm sliver of
golden light shone through. With a second peck
the crack grew wider, and the shell fell open
suddenly like a book.”
I knew little about "the penguins of the Arctic"; now, I know a lot. That is thanks to Mia Pelletier's research, and her life experiences that come from living in the Arctic environment. It's what I love most about reading books that enlighten and encourage continued learning about unfamiliar material.
Readers are introduced to Akpa, a tiny murre, while he is still in his shell and quite cozy. It's quiet all around him, and a parent is sheltering him from bad weather and dangerous egg thieves. There are many who would like to try a tasty egg: an Arctic fox, a hungry seagull, and a great white polar bear. Thanks to caring parent birds and an almost unreachable ledge, Akpa remains safe.
The time comes to hatch, and Akpa is introduced to the wild roar of the murre colony. The sound is cacophonous! Akpa is aware there are many dangers to face. For now, his parents provide shelter, food, and advice. Akpa grows and thrives, and is finally ready to migrate to a warmer climate. The mother murre will fly ahead; the father will take to the sea with his young son.
"Your mother will fly south, and I will swim with you.
As your feathers grow, I will trade my worn summer
feathers for fresh winter ones and, for a while, neither of
us will be able to fly. We will swim together. I will teach
you how to fish and show you the way to our winter home."
That is exactly what they do. The journey is harrowing and often dangerous. They move on. Kagan McLeod creates magical images for the journey made. The two meet up with other animals of the Arctic as they move toward their destination. When the young murre is finally ready to leap into the air after initially leaping into the sea, the moment is captured in a final happy illustration.
Following this, the author provides an endnote, a range map, and a glossary of Inuktut words.
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