Blown Away

Everyone knows penguins don’t fly. Or do they? Well if you have a red kite and a strong wind perhaps you do. And Penguin Blue does, flying around the world making friends on the way.

From the cleverly designed end pages to the moment of lift off and on through Penguin’s journey, the reader is carried away to join the flight. It is not just the movement created by the way Penguin Blue flies across the pages clinging on to his red kite that pulls the reader on. Biddulph carries us along through his clever use of colour and page spreads. Thus we move from the white cold of Penguin’s home through the blue of the sky to the lush greens of the tropical jungle and back again. The text is simple and direct; no unnecessary description, the illustrations provide all the background  – not to mention the joke. The design is straightforward, eschewing tricks to ensure maximum effect. This is an accomplished debut that deserves to be recommended to all.