About Penguins: A Guide for Children

by Cathryn Sill, John Sill (Illustrator)

Overview

A gorgeous first glimpse into the natural world of penguins.

Using clear and simple language, this addition to the acclaimed About... series teaches children what penguins are, how they look, how they move, what they eat, and where they live.

With his beautifully detailed, realistic paintings, noted wildlife illustrator John Sill introduces readers to a variety of penguins, from the Adélie to the rockhopper to the emperor. An afterword provides more details for curious young naturalists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561457410
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/03/2013
Series:	About. . . , #12
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Cathryn Sill, a graduate of Western Carolina University, was an elementary school teacher for thirty years. She is the author of more than twenty-five prize-winning nonfiction picture books about animals and habitats. She has created three nature series especially for pre-K and kindergarten students. She lives in North Carolina.

John Sill holds a BS in wildlife biology from North Carolina State University. Combining his knowledge of wildlife and artistic skill, John has achieved an impressive reputation as a wildlife artist and received many awards. He has illustrated more than twenty-five books in the About... and About Habitats series. He lives in North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

"A pleasing entry in a dependable series." —Booklist

"With its simple text and lovely watercolors, About Penguins will appeal to a wide audience." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

K-Gr 3—A brief overview of the 17 species of penguins inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere. A page with one or two simple sentences (or, sometimes, a partial sentence) alternates with realistic, often-full-page watercolor paintings of the featured animals. The text describes key physical and behavioral characteristics common to all penguins, diet, and some special characteristics of different species. Most of the beautifully rendered paintings feature a colony of penguins in a natural setting showing front, back, and side views of the birds; in some illustrations, they appear in the foreground, clearly displaying body markings, colors, distinctive crests, etc. Each species is identified in a caption on the text page. Short blocks of text, paired with small color replicas of the paintings, provide more detailed information in an afterword, along with the animals' geographical range. Although the amount of detail the minimal text offers is, perforce, limited, Sill's title still compares favorably with other introductions aimed at about the same age level. Its carefully executed watercolor artwork is more precise than that in Gail Gibbons's Penguins! (Holiday House, 1998) and depicts more species than the photographs in Frankie Stout's Penguins (Rosen, 2009). With its simple text and lovely watercolors, About Penguins will appeal to a wide audience.—Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library

School Library Journal