Book review: 'Periwinkle's Journey' is fun way for kids to learn about penguins and differences

My kids love it when I review children's books. Usually they fight over who gets the first read when a new one comes in the mail. I don't know what it was about "Periwinkle's Journey," but my two readers devoured it several times waaaay before I got my hands on it.

For two solid weeks my kids spouted off all kinds of penguin facts. I hadn't even read the book yet, but I was told how tall the tallest penguins are (about my son's height), that penguins live in Australia, and that there are real blue penguins in the world.

Image used with permission by Media Masters Publicity

Did you guys know that? That there are blue penguins (for real) living in Australia? I thought penguins only lived at the North and South poles (also incorrect) until my kids informed me otherwise. Then, when I sat down to read, "Periwinkle's Journey," I found out even more fascinating things about penguins in this entertaining picture book.

So let's get on with the review. Shall we?

"Periwinkle's Journey" is a story about a blue Australian penguin, Periwinkle, who has been invited to his cousin's birthday party. He's a little concerned about going because, hello, all the other penguins attending are black and white. But he goes anyway and learns to accept himself for who he is and to value his differences. Several penguin facts are integrated throughout the book and readers learn not only about respecting differences, but about penguins as well.

Image used with permission by Media Masters Publicity

There are seventeen different varieties of penguins in the world; after learning about three of them I wish this book was longer and had taught about the rest of them as well. Sign of a good book = the reader is disappointed when it's over.

The artwork in "Periwinkle's Journey" is full-color and well done. Surprisingly though, my favorite scenes were the ones found inside the front and back covers. At first I ignored the obviously educational drawings there but, after finishing the book, I spent just as long staring at the artwork in those sections as I had the entire rest of the book. 

"Periwinkle's Journey" is an entertaining, wholesome book for children of all ages with nothing whatsoever offensive in it. It teaches multiple things and can be a great jump-off point for learning more about penguins and geography.

Author Judy Petersen-Fleming lives with her husband in Scottsdale, Arizona. Illustrator Suzy Spafford lives with her husband in San Diego, California.