I Am Actually A Penguin by Sean Taylor and Kasia Matyjaszek (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)

 July 2017, Templar Publishing, 32 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Book summary

When a little girl is given a penguin suit she decides that living as a penguin is much more fun than just dressing as one. But penguins don't exactly behave like people. They don't ride the bus like people, they don't talk like people and they certainly don't catch fish fingers like people. Her family tell her, "You're not actually a penguin," but she knows that she ACTUALLY is.

Nayu's thoughts

While I wasn't allowed to wear outfits for days on end when I was little that I can remember, I certainly wore my fave clothes a lot (and still do, but not the glow in the dark Princess Jasmine PJs I had), making it easy to relate to the nameless girl, which was probably done on purpose to make it easier for the reader to understand her. Her vivid imagination was like looking in a mirror when I was little. I love how she imagines snow (I used to pretend the floor was lava) and the difference between what she sees and what reality is made me laugh a lot. Her love of penguins is endearing and realistic because I know what children are like when they become obsessed with a topic. The surprised ending left me laughing away to myself after the last page, and looking forward to rereading it. Her expressions are realistic and I know from friends' children that sometimes they will only wear a set outfit for days on end. Readers of all ages will love is cheerful tale about big imaginations! 

Find out more on Sean's website and Kasia's website. 

Suggested read

I've already read and loved a hilarious book by Kasia: I Am a Very Clever Cat by Kasia Matyjaszek (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)