Flora and the Penguin

When her penguin figure-skating partner plunges under the ice, Flora (Flora and the Flamingo) is put out. The penguin produces a fish for her, but Flora, miffed, throws the fish back...then thinks of a creative way to make amends. Dynamic flaps help set a rhythmic pace in this wordless story; a limited palette of pale blue, yellow, and the white of the page befits the wintry scene.

Having mastered the art of the dahhnce in Flora and the Flamingo (rev. 7/13), the same little-girl protagonist takes up figure skating. While lacing up her skates, she spies an orange beak peeking out of a hole in the ice. It's a penguin, and Flora reaches out her hand in friendship. At first there's no friction; the two glide across the ice, Torvill and Dean-style, skating backwards and on one foot and performing synchronized leaps. When her partner plunges back down under the ice, though, Flora is disappointed and a little put out. The penguin produces a fish for her, but Flora, still feeling miffed, throws the fish back…then thinks of a creative way to make amends. Just as in the previous wordless book, dynamic flaps (this time they're horizontal and two-sided) help set a graceful, rhythmic pace. The limited color palette, too, recalls Flamingo, though here -- befitting the wintry scene -- the pictures are all in pale blues, with yellow pops of color (Flora's hat looks like her Flamingo bathing cap but with a puffball tassel on top), some pink (her peaches-and-cream complexion), and the white of the page. The main action is on land, but underwater there's another playful story starring those sleek little fish. A gatefold near the end provides the tale's acrobatic climax before the warm-hearted pair skates off the copyright page. elissa gershowitz