THE OLD MAN AND THE PENGUIN

An unlikely friendship is forged between penguin and human.

João, who lives on the shore, spots an oil-soaked, immobile penguin. João cleans the bird and boats him back out to the water, but the penguin returns to João’s home. The two become friends, João even naming the penguin Dindim. Though instinct eventually leads the penguin back to the sea, four months later he returns—right to João’s door. He stays for eight months, returns to the ocean, and then revisits João again and again: “Just like clockwork every year, / João knows when he’ll appear.” An appended note states that this true story is based upon the experience of João Pereira de Souza, a retired bricklayer, and the Magellanic penguin who visits him annually at his home on Proveta Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The same note explains the effects of oil spills on wildlife. João and his partner have pale skin, but curious visitors with darker skin, including children, visit to meet Dindim. The breezy, sun-dappled illustrations of João’s home on the beach emphasize the bonding of the old man and the bird; in a couple, João even holds Dindim like a baby in his arms. The rhyming couplets that convey the narrative grow somewhat singsong and, therefore, monotonous, but the characters are endearing and the story, satisfying. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

An entertaining introduction for young readers to the harmful effects of oil spills on marine wildlife.