From Publishers Weekly
Fuzzy watercolors animate the story of Pete, the littlest penguin, who longs to swim with the rest of the flock. Ages 3-5. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 Pete is the smallest penguin in his colony, and he is eager to grow up quickly so that he can swim in the sea. This story tells about his small adven tures, including his efforts to walk gracefully, his friendship with a bird who tries to teach him to fly, and finally his first day swimming. The events be tween the beginning and end of the sto ry seem to be incidents designed to flesh it out rather than integral parts of a plot. Pete's success at swimming is so natural that it doesn't create much of a climax, making this a pleasant but un exciting story. It is unfortunate the sto ry is so flat because the illustrations are humorous and appealing. Pfister has created big-eyed, short, squat penguins and set them against a soft background using mostly white, gray, blue, and lav ender to capture Pete's icy world. De lightful endpapers showing Pete in vari ous positions provide an inviting opening to the book. Jane Gardner Connor, formerly at South Carolina State Library, ColumbiaCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Language Notes
Text: English, German (translation)


Card catalog description
Pete the penguin has a good time playing on land with his fellow birds and learning how to swim in the sea.

ANNOTATION

Pint-sized Pete longs for the day when he is finally big enough to swim with the other penguins.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Fuzzy watercolors animate the story of Pete, the littlest penguin, who longs to swim with the rest of the flock. Ages 3-5. (Dec.)

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

As the youngest member of the colony, Pet hasn't been able to join his playmates in some of their activities. But he makes friends with a flock of birds and he even tries to fly, which unfortunately penguins can't do. Finally, he is old enough to swim, and off he goes, spending his days in the sea admiring the sights and having fun. Penguin Pete and his first two adventures are now available in board book versions. The companion book is Penguins Pete's New Friends. 1997 (orig.

Children's Literature - Judy Katsh

While this giant foldout book may not help readers like spiders any more than they did going in, it will help readers understand more about their physiology and lifestyle. Each page works well independently; and then all the pages pull out to form a spider-saturated garden scene. It's interesting paper engineering; fascinating facts about common and unusual spiders; and an intriguing use of footnotes to identify spiders and their actual size. While over-all, it may be a cause, not a cure for arachnophobia; each page, taken in turn, has a lot to teach us about Misunderstood Spiders.

School Library Journal