When well-mannered Elliot reluctantly visits the aquarium with his distractible father, he politely asks whether he can have a penguin--and then removes one from the penguin pool to his backpack. The fun of caring for a penguin in a New England Victorian house is followed by a surprise revelation by Elliot's father.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Georgia Children's Book Award. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Grand Canyon Reader Award. It also was recognised in the Primary School category by the Golden Sower Award. It was recognised by the Buckaroo Book Award. Also it was recognised in the Picture Book category by the South Carolina Childrens Junior and Young Adult Book Award. It was recognised in the Primary School category by the Volunteer State Book Award. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Nevada Young Readers' Award. It was recognised by the Monarch Award. It was recognised by the Red Clover Award. It was recognised by the Caldecott Award. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

This book is aimed at children in primary school.

This book has been graded for interest at 5-8 years.

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2012 by Penguin Putnam Inc .

Sarah Stewart and David Small are the author and illustrator of "The Gardener," a Caldecott Honor Book. They live in a historic house in Michigan. Toni Buzzeo is the author of the 2013 Caldecott Honor Book and New York Times bestseller One Cool Friend, as well as many other books for children. Jim Datz is an illustrator and designer known for his screenprints, decorated apparel and illustrated homegoodes.