RUBY'S HEART SONG

Ruby the penguin prepares for what she knows will be a nervous time at the talent show.

Ruby starts every day with a song: “I’m a pep pep peppy penguin.” But while she’s excited to sing at the upcoming Penguin Talent show, she confesses to her friend Pengwee, of author Nutley’s Pengwee’s Breath (2021), she’s not sure that her usual methods for calming her nervous heart, like dancing the Jiggly Wiggly, will work. Pengwee suggests she pretend she’s alone on stage, but Ruby isn’t sure that will be possible. She tries to follow her mother’s advice (sing from the heart), but it’s her pounding heart that seems to be the source of her anxiety. Pengwee helps Ruby talk about how her heart feels when she experiences different emotions: It “hip-hops when I’m happy, sinks when I’m sad, and wobbles when I worry.” Pengwee’s heart feels similarly, and they conclude that Ruby should look at Pengwee if she gets nervous. At the talent show, a combination of looking up at the sky and at her sympathetic friend helps her sing. Rusu’s loose, expressive digital paintings in cool tones show glossy-eyed, cute penguins wearing scarves and hats and depict joyful song as a blue, yellow, and purple swirling cloud. The penguins’ expressions alternate between blissful calm and shuddering anxiety. While some of the child-like lingo (dancing the Jiggly Wiggly) may put off older readers, younger kids navigating anxiety may benefit from the heart-and-breath-focused mindfulness of physicality and options for navigating high-stress situations.

A cutesy but conversation-starting narrative that takes anxiety seriously and offers practical solutions.