ALA Booklist

When Penguin comes across a brown spikey object, he is not sure what it is 's too brown for a snowball, too hard to be edible, and "too prickly to be an egg." No matter, Penguin is accepting of his new beit chilly iend and knits it a bright orange scarf to match his own. When Grandpa comes along, he tells Penguin, "Pinecone belongs in the forest far, far away. He can't grow big and strong on the ice." And so the journey to the forest begins, and Penguin leaves Pinecone on a bed of soft needles. After much time passes, Penguin goes back to visit his old friend and finds a tall pine tree with an orange scarf tied gaily around its top. It's a heartwarming sight. Yoon's cute, boldly lined characters and graphic compositions tell the story in a series of spots, full-page images, and thought bubbles. This picture book, like many before it, proves that love comes in many forms. Pair with Lindsay Ward's When Blue Met Egg (2012) for another wintry storytime about unlikely pals.

Horn Book

Penguin misses his beloved pinecone after he reluctantly brings it to the forest (as Penguin's grandfather explains, "He can't grow big and strong on the ice"). Years later Penguin finally visits Pinecone, and their reunion is quietly touching thanks to a brilliant visual detail involving a hand-knit scarf. The thick-lined, digital illustrations in roomy layouts augment the simple tenderness.

Kirkus Reviews

A tale of friendship that grows even through a separation. A little penguin with an orange scarf opens his heart to a shivering little pinecone. With care and concern, Penguin immediately knits a scarf for his new friend. Whooshing and whee-ing the day together cements their love for each other. But Grandpa says that Pinecone belongs in the forest far away because it is too cold here. Showing continued concern for his companion, Penguin packs his sled for a long journey. Wanting only what is best for Pinecone, the little bird leaves him in a love-filled nest in the forest and returns to his winter home. With the passage of time, Penguin has grown big and strong but has not forgotten his forest friend. Has Pinecone grown big and strong, too? She (he?) sure has. With crisp illustrations that capture a genuinely loving heart, this story addresses the issue of missing a best friend. The illustrations are well balanced with the text, using a simple color palette while still showing the emotions of both the bird and his unusual friend (no simple task). A strong if whimsical choice for those separated from loved ones. (Picture book. 3-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Readers familiar with Frank Asch-s Happy Birthday, Moon may think they are in for a similar story: a bighearted animal bonds with an inanimate object and endearingly projects a host of feelings onto it. But in Yoon-s story, the object-a pinecone-actually does have a personality. It shivers and sneezes in the cold and enjoys playing with Penguin. But, as Penguin-s grandfather tells him, a pinecone -can-t grow big and strong on the ice,- so Penguin makes a difficult journey to bring his friend to the nearest forest; his labors are rewarded when he returns to the forest years later and finds that Pinecone is now a towering tree-still wearing the scarf that Penguin knit for him. -Penguin and Pinecone may have been far apart,- writes Yoon, -but they always stayed in each other-s hearts.- Yoon-s minimalist digital artwork, set mostly along a single plane, feels bracingly wintry with its cool, saturated palette, scratchboard textures, and thick black outlining. Most important, it provides a suitable stage for Penguin to be his kind and generous self. Ages 3-6. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2 When a curious penguin stumbles upon a pinecone, he doesn't quite know what it is. It doesn't seem to be a snowball, or an egg, or anything to eat, but it does seem to be very cold. Penguin knits it a scarf and thus begins a beautiful friendship. The cartoon illustrations are done with thick rounded lines, bright colors, and plenty of white space to give this story warmth and personality. Pinecone, overall a fairly quiet friend, visibly shivers, says "brrrr," and even starts sneezing. When Penguin's grandpa advocates taking him to the faraway forest where he can thrive, Penguin puts his own loneliness aside for his friend's well being. Though they can't live in the same place, the two remain close always. The spare text and clean illustrations, done in a nice variety of spot art and single and double pages, work well for sharing with a group while the tale provides great opportunities for talking one-on-one. A lovely story of a caring and unselfish friendship. Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA