Readers meet several members of a penguin colony."Every penguin is different. But each one is a penguin." Starting with the endpapers, Pfister's inimitable art style soars, depicting 22 comical, anthropomorphic seabirds cavorting against a gray watercolor background. Sadly, the text, translated from German, quickly becomes wordy, hammering home a message of inclusivity. What little plot there is involves newcomer Lucas, who looks a bit different from the others and is wondering if he'll be accepted. There's no doubt the others will embrace him, however, since everyone seems to like the outgoing Lucas. Next, we're introduced to 11 other penguins, all different but integral parts of the colony. Timmy masks depression by clowning, Sofia exhibits synesthesia, and Felix, whose short wings make life more challenging, is ceaselessly "cheerful and chirpy"-a somewhat condescending depiction of physical disability. And "while the other girl penguins have crushes on boy penguins, Lena is head over heels in love with Ida. She loves being in love and having butterflies in her tummy. And one day she'll tell Ida how she feels." The relentlessly long descriptions of the various characters-occasionally with sly humor-may reassure some children, but by the time Lucas finally re-emerges, many will feel shortchanged and possibly patronized.A well-meaning but heavy-handed lesson in accepting differences. (Picture book. 5-8)

“From a distance we all look the same—simply a large group of penguins,” writes Pfister (The Rainbow Fish), referencing a large cast of lightly anthropomorphized characters who inhabit a minimally detailed, blue-white Antarctic landscape. But as the pages introduce various members of the colony by name, readers encounter an assemblage of birds who represent a wide range of personalities and characteristics. Among them, there’s Timmy, who masks a deep inner sadness by being the colony clown; “cheerful and chirpy” Felix, whose “short wings make things more challenging”; detached-seeming Leon, who is actually “very observant and always on the alert”; and Lena, who is “head over heels” in love with Ida. The lack of a narrative arc gives the book a catalog feel, and some character descriptions feel outmoded, but the sympathetic accounting, which eschews employing labels for specific traits (“Sarah loves to draw more than talk. She notices sounds and smells and textures that others miss”), offers a real feel for the penguins’ individual yearnings to both be themselves and belong, and ends on a well-meaning connective phrase: “The main thing is that we’re all penguins. And we belong together.” Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 2 —"From a distance we all look the same—simply a large group of penguins. But every one of us is different. And yet, although we're each different, we form a community." This gentle book is about accepting and celebrating differences. The beginning and closing endpapers include a variety of penguins in different groupings, and the text, "Every penguin is different. But each one is a penguin." Told in the first person by a caring and empathetic unnamed penguin narrator, the story introduces penguins by name to readers, while the narrator explains how they are different. Without specifically naming them, neurodiversity, mental health, and gender nonconformity are some of the differences Pfister describes in his text and illustrations. Children are free to see themselves, or perhaps someone else, in the words and pictures. At the end of the book, the narrator mentions, "By the way, did you know that it's almost impossible to tell if a penguin is a girl...or a boy...or something in between from the outside? Maybe that doesn't matter. The main thing is that we're all penguins. And we belong together." VERDICT In a gentle, conversational manner, Pfister's penguin narrator invites readers to reconsider concepts of sameness; this is a wonderful addition to any collection of books celebrating diversity in its many forms.—Melissa King