Penguin Problems
AuthorJory John
IllustratorLane Smith
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's picture book
Published2016 (Random House)
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages29 (unpaginated)
ISBN9780553513370
OCLC960168963

Penguin Problems is a 2016 Children's picture book by Jory John and illustrated by Lane Smith. It is about a penguin that complains about his situation. They would later follow that up with Giraffe Problems (2018) and Cat Problems (2021).

Reception

Penguin Problems was well-received by critics, including a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, who said the book is "well-paced, bursting with humor, and charmingly misanthropic."[1] Jan Carr, writing for Common Sense Media, gave the book four out of five stars.[2]

Multiple praised John's writing. Booklist's Sarah Hunter highlighted the book's "wry humor", as did Publishers Weekly, who said, "John [...] delivers a rat-a-tat series of laughs".[3] Sam Bloom, writing for Horn Book Magazine, added, "The temperature may be below freezing, but the snark level is cranked up high in this collaboration between funnymen John and Smith."[4] The New York Times's Michael Ian Black called the book "funny and acerbic".[5]

Reviewers also highlighted Smith's illustrations, which Booklist's Smith called "distinctive".[6] Publishers Weekly said the "minimalist polar landscapes highlight the penguin's awkward moments".[3] The New York Times's Black highlighted the "evocative illustrations of endless cold, frightful inky depths and the spartan beauty of Antarctic mountain peaks".[5]

School Library Journal's Joy Fleishhacker also complimented the "sublime pairing", which she says "results in a rib-tickling exploration of what it means to look at the unsunny side."[7]

Awards and honors

Penguin Problems is a Junior Library Guild book.[8] The Irish Times named it one of the best children's books of 2016,[9] and Bank Street College of Education included it on their 2017 list of the year's best children's books.[10]

Awards for Penguin Problems
Year Award Result Ref.
2016 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers Nominee [8]
2018-2019 Prairie Bloom Book Award Nominee [8]
2019 Beehive Award Nominee [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Penguin Problems". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  2. ↑ Carr, Jan. "Penguin Problems Book Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-09-11. This knowing, witty look at penguin (and human) nature, is best for kids with an offbeat sense of humor.
  3. 1 2 "Penguin Problems by Jory John". Publishers Weekly. 2016-06-13. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  4. ↑ Bloom, Sam (2016). "Penguin Problems". The Horn Book Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2023-09-11 – via King County Library System.
  5. 1 2 Black, Michael Ian (2016-11-11). "Is Life Fair? Four Picture Books Say No". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-26. "Penguin Problems," written by Jory John and illustrated by Lane Smith, is for all those parents whose own darling Peters and Peytons and Tylers and Tristans occasionally (and I am sure it is only very occasionally) metamorphose into that little penguin.
  6. ↑ Hunter, Sarah (August 2016). "Penguin Problems". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  7. ↑ Fleishhacker, Joy (2016-08-01). "Penguin Problems". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  8. 1 2 3 "Penguin Problems by Jory John". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  9. ↑ Claire Hennessy (December 18, 2016). "Worthy and wonderful: The best children's and YA fiction of 2016". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Five to Nine: Humor". The Best Children's Books of the Year 2017 Edition. Bank Street College of Education. 2017. p. 19. ISSN 1523-6471. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Children's Fiction Books—Beehive Nominees 2019" (PDF). Children's Literature Association of Utah. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
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