THE PENGUIN OF ILHA GRANDE

A true and tender tale that celebrates the lasting bond that forms between a small penguin in dire straits and the man who rescued him.

One day in May, Seu João finds an oil-soaked Magellanic penguin on the beach at Praia Provetá and takes him home to clean him up. He assumes the bird won’t hesitate to return to the ocean, but even when fully recovered, Dindim, as he’s dubbed, has different ideas. The two—one a shin-high poppet clad in formal black and white in Alarcão’s pastel-hued illustrations, the other a light-skinned elder aglow with wrinkled benevolence—become constant companions…until, one hot day the following February, Dindim begins to molt and, around the time of Carnaval, doesn’t come back from his accustomed swim. But then, four months later, he waddles back out of the ocean to touch his bill to a delighted Seu João’s nose, and so continues an annual pattern that goes on for seven years. In group scenes the illustrator populates the warm and sandy Brazilian setting with multihued local children in animated poses and, though he portrays Dindim with plenty of personality, resists the temptation to anthropomorphize his feathered subject. Earle expands a closing note on the real Dindim with remarks about Magellanic penguins in general and environmental and other threats to them. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An episode with a strong sense of place awash in humor and heart.