Renowned science writer Wayne Lynch has a passion and fascination for the members of the penguin family. A self-described "penguin addict," he has logged more than 130,000 miles to sit among hundreds, sometimes even thousands of penguins on the far-flung beaches of the Galapagos Islands, Chile, Antarctica and New Zealand. This stocky little bird survives a rocky adolescence and adulthood, to experience territorial squabbles, "marriages," attacks by sea mammals and sometimes months without food as it incubates its eggs through the unrelenting winter. With lively, humorous writing and unforgettable photographs, Penguins! explores the daily lives of this feisty seabird survivor. AGES: 9 up AUTHOR: Wayne Lynch is the author of award-winning books and television documentaries, a popular guest lecturer and a well-known and widely published professional wildlife photographer. He is also the author of Bear, Bears, Bears, and the adult books, A is for Arctic and Penguins of the World, also published by Firefly Books. ILLUSTRATIONS: Colour photographs
Industry Reviews
A bright and colorful look at these appealing creatures. Science writer and photographer Lynch covers types of penguins, locomotion, diet, mating, predators, and other aspects of penguin life in an easy-to-read text enlivened by anecdotes from his travels. For example, he tells of watching a curious young king penguin nibble the flipper of a sleeping elephant seal, then cry out and flee when the seal raised its head and belched. There are plenty of details and statistics for students doing reports, and the many color photos are clear and attractive.-- (11/01/1999)
A lively first-person narrative, peppered with journal excerpts, personal observations and anecdotes.--Horn Book Guide (07/01/1999)
A readable melange of anecdote, explanation, gee-whiz facts, and 'hot new research' in penguin studies, the text and plentiful accompanying photographs successfully portray penguins as 'more than cute creatures that waddle and bray.' ... This one might well be the answer to the question of what's black and white and read all over.-- (12/01/1999)
An enormous amount of scientific information about the penguin -- from the 17 different kinds of diet to mating -- is presented in a lively, engaging way, accompanied by Lynch's glorious photographs of his subject in all manner of guises.-- (01/01/2000)
Betcha can't walk by this book without stopping to take a look and then stay a while and read about these fascinating seabirds ... The photographs attract us, but it is Lynch's entertaining informative writing style that holds us with these great penguin stories ... All in all, Lynch offers a fascinating book about those seabirds we love to watch in wonder.-- (11/24/1999)
Young readers will thoroughly enjoy this book ... Penguins! is a delightful book about this flightless bird. Together, the beautiful color photographs and the text tell a fascinating, exciting, and revealing story that will delight young readers.-- (10/01/2000)
