book cover

Wanna See a Penguin?

by Simon Philip, illustrated by Ian Smith

Interest age: 4 to 5
Reading age: 5+

Published by Oxford University Press, 2023

  • Interactive
  • Picture books

About this book

One little girl a self-described penguin expert invites her friend on a lively penguin search around the city in this funny and playful picture book. Surely, with her expert knowledge, they’ll be able to find one? 

But soon the pair discover that finding a penguin in the city isn’t quite so easy. Every time the little girl points one out to the little boy, it’s not a penguin they are spotting but some other black and white animal. There’s a zebra, a dalmatian, and even a whale! Each time, the little boy is on hand to remind the young expert of a different penguin attribute, and perhaps just as importantly,everything that penguins are not! All the while, as the duo are busy being distracted by other black and white animals, a lone penguin lurks in the background… 

A brilliant example of stealth learning, this delightful picture book combines fiction and non-fiction to introduce animal recognition in a subtle and clever way. There’s a lovely, factual double-page spread at the back of the book showing each animal that has featured throughout to promote and reinforce learning. Children will love the pantomime-style humour andspotting the penguin on each page – the same penguin that the two little explorers are very much unaware of!   

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