This book was adorable! A fun, cute picture book that would be great for a read a loud. Great way to tie in some history as well, even for older grade levels!

CHILLY DA VINCI is a cute story about a little penguin who invents things. Most of them don't work and one of his inventions separates him and a few other penguins from their home on an iceberg. So Chilly has to find a way to get them home before the orca eats the iceberg.

While the story is a little difficult to follow - it's mostly in Chilly's thoughts - it was a cute story. The illustrations were gorgeous and I loved the artsy inventor quality of them.

I would recommend Chilly da Vinci for all young adventurers and inventors who need a little spark of inspiration.

Chilly is a penguin who loves to invent things! Unfortunately, his inventions do not always work as planned. His latest flying machine has put all the little penguins in peril as a whale tries to snack on them. But Chilly refuses to give up and learns from his mistakes (even when some of the penguins are telling him he should just give up). This is a sweet little story about passion and perseverance that is fun to read and not unbearably corny like some children's books about motivation can be.

The art style is very cute and features doodles that look much like Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks, with funny little scribbles following Chilly's mind.

This would be a good, inspiring tale for children, as well as a good introduction to Leonardo da Vinci!

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Delightful little story about being true to oneself and never giving up. Gorgeous illustrations. Probably best for readers 6 to 8 years old.

Chilly is adorable, but, like many inventors, he gets too caught up with his ideas and often does not think of the consequences of his inventions. Read this book to see how he prevents his fellow penguins from being devoured after a failed experiment put them in danger.

A great moral about not giving up. Quirky illustrations students will love! Definite purchase for our library.

Chilly da Vinci was not at all what I was expecting, and if there was any correlation between him and Leonardo da Vinci, it wasn't obvious. We start the book with Chilly's inventions breaking apart and sinking into the ocean, which is terrible for the creatures that live there. One, there's pollution. Two, any of those parts could end up killing an animal, or making their existence extremely painful. Also, you have to suspend all belief, because where is Chilly getting all of these parts in the first place? They're stranded on an iceberg, yet he manages to build giant, non-working machines.

Chilly also talks down about himself, saying his "brain is full of seawater", and his sketchbook is "full of goof-ups". I want the characters in children's books to have confidence, so they're setting a good example for the spongey minds reading them. It's okay for characters to feel flawed and inadequate, if that's what the story is focusing on, but Chilly just had a negative personality. He doesn't get encouragement from his friends, or think positively about himself when something does work out.

Chilly's terminology for things made very little sense, and confusing language isn't something you want in a children's book. Additionally, the wording was weird, and the story felt jagged and disorganized. The imagery was also confusing. I think at times we were supposed to be seeing what Chilly was imagining, and not what was happening in reality. People were wanting his autograph at one point, although I'm not sure why, or what it had to do with the story. Maybe because he hoped to be a famous inventor? Honestly, I have no idea. Chilly's goals and aspirations were unclear, and his character left a lot to be desired.

Someone named Vinnie is throwing things and Chilly and being a bully, but again... where are all these things coming from? I wish the other penguins would have been discussed more, and that the bullying would have been addressed. Instead, Chilly thinks about leaving Vinnie behind when they make their escape, which is not what you want to teach a child. I wish the main character had been more compassionate and included the other penguins that were trapped with him. (Side note: He does take Vinnie with them, but only because Vinnie offered something in exchange. Fritters, I think. We should be teaching children to show kindness regardless of what the other person has done, and that they shouldn't need to be bribed into doing the right thing.)

"Note: I am terrible at thinking. I should do it less." Seriously? We should want to encourage more thinking, not less. The humor wasn't humorous, and the story wasn't environmentally friendly. "I'll use leather for the wings so they won't tear. And I'll use bones." An animal is wanting to use another animal's skin for his project? It felt wrong. Also, Chilly said he doesn't eat fish, only kelp, so I'm assuming he's a vegetarian...but one that has no qualms about using other aspects of animals for his inventions. It just didn't make sense.

Chilly da Vinci was a random assortment of nonsense that left me feeling frustrated and annoyed. Chilly's failed projects polluted the water near his home, so I'm sure that will impact the food supply his family and friends need to survive. There is no character development, and Chilly seems very judgmental of those around him. I dislike how negative he was in general, especially about himself, and believe that sets a bad example for children. They're in danger the entire book, but I never felt a sense of urgency. I would not recommend this book for children, and I'm glad I decided to read it on my own before sharing it with my kids.

I originally received this book from NetGalley, but the formatting was too difficult to read on my iPad. I stumbled across this book at a store, and decided to give it a shot. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

*review will post on my blog next week

This is a sweet book put together similar to a comic book almost. I loved the illustrations and thought it was a fun read.

This was such a cute adventure. It is good if you are in the mood for a light reading. The art is gorgeous with magnificent colors. Additionally, it is a great lecture for children. The story in courages the use of imagination to solve problems. If you are a fan of da Vinci, this is a cute addition to his legend.

I received a free ARC from NetGAlley in exchange for an honest review.

Chilly is a penguin who doesn't want to be like the others. He invents things that don't usually work, but he never gives us. This book has a great message and fun pictures. It is a great read!

This is a beautifully illustrated book about a penguin who tries to create a flying machine. The illustrations are really what make this book worthwhile. The story is cute, though at times somewhat disjointed.

Chilly da Vinci is a great picture book for teaching positive traits such as resourcefulness, curiosity, perseverance.

At face value, readers will get exactly what you might expect from this book. A penguin inventor who is dismissed by his peers. Very young readers will join Chilly in his dismay at his failures and anticipate his success. But this is more to this story than the hunt for a successful invention. We see Chilly's supreme confidence in his ideas and the way he is plagued by doubts after failure. We follow his whole thought process, the scientific principles behind each invention. We see how, in time, he learns from his failures. In a broad way it can serve as a simple introduction to the scientific method. Older readers may enjoy brainstorming their own inventions or improvements on Chilly's failures.

The illustrations for this title are stellar, but the story is disjointed and wandering. Graphic books like this need a tight storyline because there is very little text. Kids are also too savvy to believe eating a lot of kale gives you green tinted vision, or that a small penguin-sized flying machine is going to break a good sized chunk off a an iceberg. I can see the reader leafing through this book once to experience the wonderful illustrations and then never opening it again.

While other penguins are off being penguins, Chilly da Vinci occupies his time by inventing. However, his newest invention proves to be a disaster, and soon him and the other penguins are stranded at sea with a hungry orca nipping at their short tails. Now, Chilly must invent his best contraption to date to get the penguins back home or risk becoming a sea snack.

Chilly is an adorable character as he learns the importance of perseverance during the creative process. Author and illustrator Jarrett Rutland has brilliantly captured his self-doubt by forcing him into such a high stakes situation. His frustration is palpable on the page in a way that makes the reader want to cheer him on.

There are a few small issues. Chilly deals with a bully named Vinnie, and the similarity between the names Vinnie and da Vinci creates a bump in the text in a couple of spots. The story is formed from Chilly’s notes, which can, at times, feel clunky and removed from the action. However, the story itself is sound and most of the text works.

Aside from Chilly himself, the star of this book is the illustrations. Rutland has created watercolor spreads with lush blues crashing against white that perfectly evoke the penguins’ habitat. When the action turns to Chilly’s designs, the palette dulls and the style shifts with allusions to Leonardo da Vinci’s own work. It’s highly effective.

This is a wonderful picture book examination of how some failures can lead to eventual success.

Chilly da Vinci is not your ordinary penguin. Always thinking of making a penguin’s life easier, he tries to invent contraptions that will bring his visions to life. But when his latest invention, a flying machine, crashes into the iceberg, separating Chilly and his friends from the rest of the penguins, he’ll have to think quickly to reverse his mistake.

Chilly da Vinci by J. Rutland is an adorable picture book filled with colorful and charming illustrations of Chilly and his friends. The themes of perseverance and believing in yourself are always good medicine for readers of all ages,

That being said, at times it felt like this book skipped over important parts of the story. I wish that they had taken more pages to tell the story more completely, and so that we could get to know Chilly and his friends a little better.

But Chilly da VInci is still a very likable book and a likable penguin. I do recommend it, just not whole-heartedly.

Galleys for Chilly da Vinci were provided by NorthSouth Books, through NetGalley, with many thanks.

An interesting book about a penguin named Chilly, who likes to invent things. I really liked the style of the illustrations of this book, which complimented the story.

Thank you to NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Chilly DaVinci is a penguin who's not like the other penguins on his iceberg home, DaVinci. He builds things while the others do more "penguin" things. But his machines don't always work, so when his latest contraption cracks the ice and puts the group in danger from a nearby orca, Chilly knows he has to make things right. After some trial and error, and taunting from Chilly's nemesis, Vinnie, Chilly manages to save his group and land them safely back on Vinci. Chilly's inventions are inspired by Leonardo DaVinci's inventions, including a flying contraption. An afterword reminds readers to think about the process rather than the reward, like DaVinci, and to think outside the box (or 'berg).

Chilly DaVinci is inspired by Leonardo DaVinci, with sepia-toned blueprints paced with the penguins story. The storyline itself is a little jumbled, with side conversations and random thoughts popping up throughout the text; readers may tangent off on these. The watercolor-style artwork makes for cute penguins, and DaVinci is especially wide-eyed and rocks a pair of giant glasses, giving him an egghead-type of nerdy cool.

Better for independent reading than storytime, but fun for penguin fans.

Similar to Leonardo Da Vinci, Chilly the penguin is an inventor with a lot of failed inventions under his belt. The story is told through Chilly’s perspective as he attempts to create a flying machine. He’s eagerly hoping for his invention to be successful in order to gain recognition from his fellow penguin crew.

Though this book was a bit difficult to read digitally on my ipad (the pages and illustrations did not connect well), I would love to own a hard copy. Chilly Da Vinci was a comically adorable story with great illustrations and would make a excellent edition to any child's library.

This book has so much potential! I love the idea of Chilly DaVinci and all his inventions, but I found the book hard to follow. The illustrations were so cute, but I almost wonder if my advanced copy was missing some pages in the beginning. The notes presumably on the inventions were never identified as such, so I struggled to follow the thought processes. I look forward to a finished version, because I really think children will enjoy seeing many failed attempts being rewarded with a success at the end.