cover image Hello, This is Your Penguin Speaking

Hello, This is Your Penguin Speaking

Rodney Rigby. Hyperion Books, $13.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-1-56282-231-6

``I wish I could fly and carry passengers like an airplane,'' muses Penguin, as his fellow penguins (each sporting a scarf of a different color) romp on the ice and build snow penguins. He then observes a plane overhead, and decides that his flippers could substitute for wings, and his feet just might be able to function as wheels during takeoff and landing. So, with a friend perched on his back, Penguin attempts--with little luck--to fly. But when the resourceful fellow builds a propeller, which he attaches to his nose, and straps roller skates to his feet, he succeeds in soaring through the air--and into outer space. As his pals line up for rides, the proud pilot welcomes them to Penguin Space Shuttle. Although this amiable if not very inspired story line proves mildly diverting, it's Rigby's ( There's a Building on Sixth Avenue ) winsome, bustling art--featuring a bevy of prepossessing penguins--that lets this book truly take off. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)