Join a plucky little penguin on the journey of a lifetime, in Axel's fabulous new picture book written by long term collaborator and author Julia Donaldson.
Jonty the little gentoo penguin longs to find his true home at the South Pole. One night, he sneaks out of the zoo and sets off on an amazing adventure, all the way to Antarctica (with an accidental detour to the North Pole!) Children will be cheering Jonty on as he finally finds his way, in this captivating story of bravery, friendship, and finding your place in the world.
Axel says:
"You can’t be angry when you look at a penguin,” said John Ruskin. How true! I think Julia had been thinking about a story with a penguin and an arctic tern for a long time, and then suddenly the text was there - the adventures of a Gentoo penguin. But why a Gentoo and not a Rockhopper, Chinstrap, Emperor or Adélie penguin? My theory is it is because of the rhyming possibilities: there is a famous poem by a German poet Christian Morgenstern (look it up and you'll find the original and a translation) called The Aesthetic Weasel, which begins like this: A weasel on an easel within a patch of teasel. When Morgenstern was asked Why?, “I did it just for the rhyme"! was the answer. And I suspect that also answers the question why a Gentoo?
When I read the text I thought Julia had taken a lot of liberties with the zoological facts - Gentoos don’t really live at the South Pole, but on the edge of Antarctica; a bearded seal would not consider eating a penguin as they like to eat little fish and krill, and it's unlikely they would even meet. But when I told my daughter about my reservations, she said ”But penguins don’t talk either, do they?" So I do think taking liberties in a picture book is ok after all. And I got my page of facts at the end of the book. I think it’s important that children learn about the facts as well - as it may raise their interest in Antarctica and the endangered species that live there.