Kirkus Reviews
A silly, chilly calamity unfolds in the South Pole.One night, while a group of penguins are all huddled together to keep warm against the blowing winds, they wake to find that they are frozen to each other! A few tiny webbed feet poke out here or there, and a flipper or two are free, but the pack is, well, tightly packed, in ice. How can they escape? Their friends attempt to help, but nothing works. Pipsqueak, a tiny penguin with a fuzzy woolen cap and scarf, decides a trip to the city might be their only hope. An albatross carries the "penguin ice pop" across the seas, and a whale takes them the rest of the way. Once they reach the bustling metropolis, populated by anthropomorphic animals, other pals offer solutions (a lobster attempts to snip them free at the barber shop, and beetles try to break the ice at the bowling alley), but the "Doctopus" (a doctor octopus, of course) is the only one who can save the day. The penguins' wide eyes are incredibly expressive, imbuing their hijinks with hilarity, and there's plenty of fun vocab sprinkled through-their "huddle" turns into a "struggle," which is certainly a "muddle" but luckily ends in a "puddle" with a "cuddle." (This book was reviewed digitally.)A gleeful ode to friendship and problem-solving. (Picture book. 4-7)
School Library Journal
(Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
PreS-Gr 2 —After a particularly blustery night in the South Pole, penguin friends awake to find themselves frozen together, and no amount of wiggling can separate this "giant penguin ice pop." Their Antarctic neighbors are willing but unable to help, and now the penguin huddle is officially a penguin muddle. Pipsqueak, the baby of the bunch, has an idea: they need to take a trip to the big city. There they visit the Doctopus, a cheerful tentacled fellow who shows them that the solution is right at their feet. Montgomery's text is admirably lean without sacrificing humor, vocabulary, and wordplay, while Warburton brings the frozen tundra and the bustling city to life with bright, energetic art that seems to fly, run, and waddle across the page. From the iceberg-dwelling walruses back home to the tiniest fish in the Doctopus's tank, every creature in the book has an expressive face that adds warmth and wit to the characterization. The length is just right for a story hour, with a smooth flow of action that keeps the plot moving. VERDICT Readers will enjoy the comedic failed attempts at separating the penguins and cheer when the huddle realizes that their bond is stronger than ever. Recommended.—Kate Newcombe