Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Chilly is a penguin inventor in the vein of Leonardo da Vinci, experimenting with a variety of mechanical machines. One of his experiments goes awry, stranding him and some friends on an iceberg, with an orca circling and nibbling away at the berg. Will Chilly be able to save himself and his friends with his inventions in time?

The play on da Vinci's name isn't only cute, but also quite appropriate, seeing as da Vinci dreamed of flying and Chilly, a flightless baby penguin, does the same. His observations of the success and failures of his varying projects are short, journal-like notes, transposed over adorable full page illustrations. The end leaves are also clever, highlighting many of the quirks of da Vinci's own notebooks, such as backward handwriting samples and sketches of penguin-versions of some famous paintings and doodles.

The story as a whole wasn't incredibly captivating for me, as it really didn't feel to cohesive due to the note nature of the text. However, the illustrations are incredibly fun and there is a positive message about focusing on solving problems by observing the world around you and taking note of what things have worked in the past. It would be a fun addition to a science unit focused on mechanics and flight!

Chilly is pretty much the definition of adorkable, and I would love to see Chilly go on more adventures in the future date!

Cute story of Chilly the penguin, who inadvertently separates himself and his penguin crew from safety and must invent a machine to return them all to safety. Along the way, he has several mishaps, but he doesn’t get discouraged and instead he demonstrates the perseverance and problem solving skills that we hope to see in our children. I enjoyed the da Vinci references, which will be a bonus to adults sharing this as a read aloud with the kids in their lives, but might be lost on some children. The author’s note at the end helps clarify the da Vinci inspiration. The illustrations are engaging and detailed, and will have kids giggling over the penguins’ antics! Recommended as a picture book addition and read aloud for 2nd grade classrooms and up,

Today, with Christmas fast approaching and temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere plummeting as winter gets underway, I’m reviewing a book that’s set in a suitably snowy landscape.

Chilly the penguin lives on an iceberg known as Vinci. While the other penguins do normal “penguin” things, Chilly loves to invent machines – with limited success. When one of his machines goes horribly wrong, shooting him off on a chunk of ice with several of his fellow penguins, Chilly has to think hard to get them back home to Vinci before they’re eaten up by a hungry orca.

The references to Leonardo da Vinci continue throughout the book, not just in the title and the beautiful cover image, and older readers will delight in spotting them. Like in the case of the real da Vinci, Chilly’s inventions often fail. But his enthusiasm and motivation are insuppressible, as he tries out one crazy idea after another.

The book is written partly as Chilly’s journal entries, a format that feels quite appropriate for an inventor, reminding the reader still further of Leonardo da Vinci. The highly textured use of colour adds extra depth to the illustrations. The pictures of Chilly in particular are both adorable and ingenious.

A delightful story, full of humorous elements, from the “gakkering” of the other penguins to Chilly’s little side notes in his journal. I would highly recommend this book for young penguin fans and inventors alike!

I love penguins! And penguins that are inventors are even better! Chilly is an adorable penguin that seems to cause as much trouble with his experiments as you'd expect from a penguin inventor. The drawings are adorable and the tid bits of the story are fun. I feel like the author was torn between his adult readers and his young audience and there was a misstep somewhere. Needless to say, if I had a child, they would be getting this book because: penguins, inventor penguins.

Chilly da Vinci by Jarrett Rutland is a picturebook that is currently scheduled for release on December 4 2018. While others do “penguin” things, Chilly da Vinci is a self-declared inventor penguin. He builds machines that don’t work as intended, at least not yet! Can his inventing solve the problem, that he just might have caused.

Chilly da Vinci is a cute picturebook. I love the artwork, the penguins are very cute and the yellow/brown paper hinting at Leonardo da Vinci's sketches add a great touch. Chilly's efforts and persistence is another great aspect of the story. His first invention, and second, and third, all cause trouble instead of meeting Chilly's hopes for them. I think showing the invention processes and how much Chilly needed to be himself while not liking how others often treated him because of it is important for readers of all ages to understand. I thought the story could have been a little more involved, or more focused on one or two of the inventions. I liked the illustrations, the animals were cute and the use of yellowish brown paper for the inventions was a nice touch. I liked the perseverance and effort of Chilly, and the discussion about being yourself and empathy that this book might inspire. I just never really got invented in the story, it felt like something was missing. Not that I know what was lacking, if I did I would be making the big bucks, or at least bucks, for all this book reading.

This is a book that I thought would really work well for me. Loosely (very loosely) based on Leonardo da Vinci's life and inventions, Chilly da Vinci tells the story of a penguin whose invention accidentally puts him and a few of his friends in danger. He then has to create something else to solve their dilemma and reunite them safely with the rest of the penguins.

There was something about the story that just didn't flow for me. At times, I almost felt like there were pages missing. For example, Chilly might make a comment, and I wouldn't be sure what he was referring to. There were also a few editing issues, including one where an extra word completely changed the meaning of a sentence, and another where a dangling participle compared a penguin (not his soft landing) to snowflakes:

Like snowflakes, I used air currents to ease down onto the 'berg.

I guess that book I read the other day, Don't Dangle Your Participle, could be valuable to adults as well as kids!

It was neat to see all the little hints tying Chilly to Leonardo. But, ultimately, the story was too thin and a little too scattered for my taste. With a bit more editing to tighten it up, I think it could be better.

It is a silly book about a penguin who is an inventor. It teaches not to give up for failures.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

This was adorable. A great way to get kids thinking about inventing and working together. I loved the artwork in this one.

Chilly’s attempt at a flying machine has put him and a few other penguins in a bit of a pickle. A pickle involving a broken off part of glacier, open ocean, and a hungry orca. Can he invent something to help them get back to their colony on Vinci before they become a whale snack, or are all his inventions doomed to failure for one reason or another?

A little inventor penguin must try, try, and try again until he makes something that succeeds, encouraging readers to not give up because of some failures. Obviously, Chilly is based loosely on Leonardo da Vinci who had many successes, but his journals also reveal several ideas that just won’t work. (See the author’s note at the back on this.) The illustration style is cute and readers should quickly start cheering Chilly on despite his naysayers. A good read to encourage younger readers that a failed experiment doesn’t make you a failure and doesn’t even mean you should give up.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Cute enough story about an inventor penguin that struggles with his failing inventions and the unkindness of his fellow penguins. The illustrations were decent, especially the Renaissance-style pages. The story itself is easy enough to follow but the way it's written is a bit disjointed, which detracted some from my enjoyment.

This little inventor penguin doesn't give up until he saves the penguins. It is a cute book that I think my youngest students would enjoy.

Cute pictures and an interesting concept aren't enough to make Chilly da Vinci an overall winner. It's difficult to imagine who exactly would be the audience for this book. The simplistic storyline is suited to young readers, but all of the references will go well over their heads. Rather than feeling like a clever nod for parents, Chilly da Vinci just ends up feeling like a book without a home.

Chilly da Vinci is not your normal everyday penguin. He is an inventor. The only problem is, like most inventors, not all his inventions work the way he hopes. When one of them sends him and his friends floating on a large chunk of ice in the sea with a hungry orca nearby, he frantically tries to find a way to get them safely home.

A fun book for young inventors with lots of fun details to look at. I hope to see more from this creator in the future.

I like when authors take real people and turn them into animal or cartoon characters for children to understand. Chilly da Vinci does with with Leonardo da Vinci and his invention of the flying machine. Chilly invents a machine that cracks the iceberg he is living on with some other penguins. While being taunted by the other penguins and dealing with a giant orca circling the iceberg they are on Chilly has to come up with an invention to get them home. He creates a flying machine and the story goes from there. I thought the illustrations were very cute especially Chilly and the other penguins and the detail of the flying machine was excellent. The end of the book has information on Leonardo da Vinci. I would recommend this for children 6 and up as it is a little detailed for the younger children.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a cute book about a penguin inventor. The illustrations are adorable. Chilly is not like other penguins he uses his imagination to build machines, although they don't always work. This is a great way to teach small children to do something that they love despite what others may say. This also teaches children to use problem-solving skills. This would be a great addition to an elementary school library or classroom or for parents of preschool-aged children.

I received a copy through NetGalley and opinions expressed are my own.

This book confused me, and I couldn't help but think it would be hard for children to understand. While I liked the story arc and the moral (reinforced by the author's note), I didn't otherwise find this book to be compelling. The text was either not clear or awkward and forced. The best part about this is the art!

This book just didn't work for me. The illustrations were cute, and it was an interesting concept, but I just couldn't get into it. I can see kids that are into science and inventing liking this book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Jarrett Rutland
Publisher: North South Books Inc.
Publication Date: 04 Dec 2018

"My name is Chilly, and while others do 'penguin' things, I build machines. Unfortunately, they don't always work."

And thus we are introduced to Chilly, a pretty-cute penguin with huge glasses who is creating machines to get him and his chick-mates away from "Plumpy Fin" (aka the orca). Not all of his designs work (just, as the author reminds us in his afterward, neither did all of Leonardo da Vinci's designs), until finally, inspiration strikes.

I also really enjoyed the illustrations. They made the story come alive, even if not in traditional picture book format (entries from Chilly's journal).

Recommended for ages 6-10 (and beyond!). A great introduction to Leonardo da Vinci.

"Gakker!" [It's great!]

Penguin+Leonardo Da vinci?
Yess
Drawings are very beautiful.
The story is simple but very short.

A cute book for children!