Penguin is spunky, sassy, and, well, a little naïve.
After losing his very first friend, he’s decided he doesn’t need anybody. His colony? Full of jerks. His parents hope he’ll warm up to the other young penguins, but as soon as he learns how to fish, that’s it. He’s self-sufficient. He can officially do it all himself. He grows bolder. Even when—RED ALERT! DANGER! There’s a seal in the water! Phew, close call. Pushing the limits on fishing is important—there seem to be fewer fish by the day. It’s a seal-eat-penguin-eat-fish world, after all.
But one day, a different kind of disaster strikes. The penguin is about to get his wish—but not quite in the way he expected. The colony’s iceberg cracks… and suddenly he’s adrift and completely alone at sea. Followed only by… you bet, that pesky, penguin-hungry seal in the water.
Good thing he didn’t need those friends anyways. But what’s that hollow feeling in his chest? The one that’s telling him he needs to find his way back? Does he actually miss those huggable little know-it-alls? With a little help from a not-so-affectionately named Doom Bird, could a reunion ever be in his future? And could he just be the one to help them all find a new home, in an ocean where all the ice is rapidly dwindling?
Author
Mary Winn Heider
Mary Winn Heider is the author of two middle-grade novels: The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy and The Mortification of Fovea Munson. She is currently working on a theatrical adaptation of FOVEA for The Kennedy Center with the composer Justin Huertas. Her picture book The Unicorns Who Saved Christmas, illustrated by Christian Cornia, is out now. Mary Winn has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she lives in Chicago, where she teaches creative writing residencies with PlayMakers Lab, performs at theaters around the city, and sometimes helps out at The Mystery League.
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Mika Song
MIKA SONG is a children’s writer and illustrator who likes to make stories about sweetly funny outsiders. She grew up in Manila, Philippines and Honolulu, Hawaii before moving to New York to study animation at Pratt Institute. She worked in children’s educational animation before devoting herself to writing and illustrating children’s books. These days she draws in her tiny apartment in Chinatown and volunteers as a Reading Partners tutor with upper elementary kids.
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