Super Duper Penguin Slide
Leonie Lord
Walker Books

There’s a pleasing kind of circularity about this tale of a penguin family’s epic journey, big ones at the front, small ones behind.

From the start it’s evident that this lot are well-organised and polite too, with their tickets at the ready to board the bus when it finally arrives at the stop, and the readiness to let those in great haste get past on the escalator. Such deeds still enable the penguin brigade – mum, dad and five little ones – to board their train in the nick of time as it begins to ‘Chugga chug, choo choo’ its way across the varying terrain until – disaster!. The train pulls to an untimely halt and an announcement is made.

Looks like it’s time to draw on another of those penguin propensities – persistence.

A phone call to a goat soon gets them out of trouble and finally they reach their destination. Now at last, it’s time for some fun and it’s downhill all the way … almost.

Full of fun characters – silent bit part players as well as the main cast and supporting nesting guinea pigs – Leonie Lord’s scenes both large and small contain a wealth of amusing details to giggle at as readers follow the flippered family on their journey with its highs and lows.