I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament

A pangolin is convinced that a “fun facts” presentation will clarify some things about it for its fellow animals. The inattentive audience (“Did somebody say ‘penguins’?”), however, would rather associate the mammal with its component parts: if it has scales, it must be a snake; if it spews a stinky liquid when frightened, it must be a skunk (“Skunks are very cute and extremely popular, I’ll have you know,” a skunk adds). Worst of all, the animals are sorely disappointed when they learn that Pangolin is not a penguin. And when a real penguin walks through—so cool that it’s wearing shades and toting a surfboard—everyone quickly follows. Everyone, that is, except for a child who looks a lot like the author and happily soaks up everything Pangolin tells her. Maybe having niche appeal isn’t so bad after all. Wong’s (The Goose Egg) gouache-colored line drawings are stripped down almost to a fault, but her dialogue-balloon text feels as if it was freshly and astutely overheard: “I’M FREAKING OUT! I’M TOTALLY FREAKING OUT!” says a pig, spotting the surfer penguin. Ages 5–8. [em]Agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. (Jan.) [/em]