Member Reviews

A sweet book about moving schools and making new friends. This one teaches compassion and friendship through the animals who are studying together. Puffin moves countries and this cute book takes us through the challenges he faces as he tries to befriend penguin.

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This was a wonderful book to read. Puffin starts at a new school and gets assigned a buddy, who happens to be Penguin. Puffin is excited until they see just how busy Penguin always is all the time. When something bad happens on opening night at a school play, we see Puffin do something which turns the whole night around. Some kids will have a blast reading this book.

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I really enjoyed this sweet children's book. It teaches the value of friendship and looking out for each other. It also seems to teach that wanting to be helpful can make you seem like a show off, which was a bit confusing. Puffin is very autistic coded and I enjoyed that, particularly as puffins are one of my special interests

Overall a cute book about community. Giving it 4 stars because some of it didn't quite add up and the images in the pdf I was reading from were very pixilated compared to the text, which was a shame

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher

Puffin starts at a new school and gets paired with super busy Penguin whom doesn’t really have time to be a great buddy. This book a a starter graphic novel with cute illustrations in a panel format. All about trying to fit in and making friends, also I learnt a new fact, a puffins beak glows!

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Puffin and Penguin is an adorable book that I would recommend to any young reader! I love the way puffin is able to find a place in school that is perfect just for him!

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Puffin and Penguin is a cute story about friendship and what is important to you. Puffin wanting to b friends with Penguin when Penguin is too busy made for a cute and relatable dynamic. I look forward to more adventures from this author/illustrator team.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for a copy of this book.

I have a nephew that would love this book as he is into comic book style reading and loves penguins. The storyline was super cute and had a great message. The illustrations were colorful and a great addition to the story. Highly recommend for that age range.

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Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own

Fun book that is perfect for kids starting a new school. Cute realistic story with relatable big feeling

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Puffin is excited about his first day at his new school when Penguin - the coolest kid in school - is assigned to be his buddy. Penguin is too busy to hang out with Puffin, starring as King Midas in the school play among his other activities, leaving Puffin on his own to figure out making friends.

This was a cute children’s book that a lot of kids can probably relate to. It has funny moments and touching moments, too. In addition to being entertaining, it incorporates some interesting bird facts into the story. I recommend this for elementary-aged kids.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

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I learned something new about puffins in this fun buddy graphic novel.

When Puffin relocated from Iceland to Brookloon in New Stork City with his parents, he has to go to a new school. On his first day at the United Avian Nations School, Penguin is assigned as his buddy. Penguin's helpful nature has him running all day and Puffin feels neglected. With the help of his parents he crafts a plan to be a friend himself and get involved, starting with the school play. Puffin will get a chance to shine (literally) on Opening Night.

The graphics as colorful and engaging. Loved the little bits of avian humor and the side story about other birds thinking Puffin is another Penguin. A cute new graphic novel to introduce to young elementary kids, especially those who are in a new school or struggle to make friends.

A big thank you to my GR buddy Rosh for bringing this encouraging little read to my attention. Also to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

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In a Nutshell: A children’s graphic novel about two classmates who learn how to work together. Cute for the target age group. Nice life lessons as well. Learnt some interesting facts too along the way.

Plot Preview:
After moving with his family to ‘New Stork City’, Puffin is excited to be in a fancy new school in ‘Brookloon’. However, he soon realises that the buddy assigned to him, Penguin, is the coolest and busiest kid in school, always in demand and loved by everyone. Feeling ignored, Puffin hatches his own plan to make friends and joins the stage crew of the drama club. But even the best of plans comes with glitches, and Puffin learns that enthusiasm doesn’t lead to automatic success.

Bookish Yays:
🐧 Two of the cutest birds in one graphic novel! Loved how the book played on the similarity in appearance between puffins and penguins.
🐧 The titular duo – opposite in nature and unlikely protagonists. Loved their personalities. I also appreciate how the book shows both of them to be right and wrong at different times instead of a biased viewpoint towards the new entrant in school.
🐧 The breaking of stereotypes – The cool kid isn’t mean. The new kid isn’t nervous. The book forces us to think different.
🐧 All the birdy wordplay! Whether chapter titles or textual content, there are many avian puns that will be a treat for kids to discover, as long as they know their birds well. Mine didn’t know that the loon is an actual bird. They know it now!
🐧 Some fun birdy facts and trivia, presented not as a separate section but as a part of the plot. A great way of incorporating learning into stories.
🐧 Fabulous illustrations, where even the background of the panels have plenty going on. For graphics-loving kids, this will be a treat.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🥚 Couldn’t figure out why the bird parents wear clothes but the teacher and her students in school don’t! 😂

Overall, this was a fun read that will be well suited to kids between 5-8 years of age. The story is simplistic but perfect for kids aged 6-12. The illustrations add to the reading experience, and the message and the avian trivia are the icing on the cake. I read this with my girls (who are both older than the target age). They found this book cute and rated it 4.5 and 4.25 stars respectively.

Recommended to littles who love graphic novels and birds and light-hearted stories with subtle morals.

4.25 stars. (My rating is 4, but the kids did like it better and it IS a children’s book, so…!)

My thanks to Kids Can Press for providing the DRC of “Puffin and Penguin” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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This was such a cute story. It was about a puffinn who started a new school. It teaches children how to August to change in a fun and engaging way. It's b easy to follow and suitable for any age range.

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This was a very sweet story. I loved the art work too. It was nice and easy to read. I would definitely recommend anyone reading this, because it was a fun book.

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This is a really cute story with a fab ending!

The book is well written and easy to follow for the age range - my daughter falls within the target audience and she really enjoyed the story.

The story centres around Puffin when he starts a new school in a new country after his mum gets a new job. The book has some cute illustrations too and we will be reading it again later tonight.

It is 4.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon- very highly recommended!

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Thank you to Netgalley and Kids Can Press for this advanced reader copy.

Puffin is off to a new school as he and his family have recently moved. It is Puffin's first day of school, and he expects to make new friends easily. Unfortunately, everyone doesn’t recognize him as Puffin, the bird. He gets assigned to Penguin, who is supposed to help Puffin navigate the school, however, Penguin is too busy to do this. Puffin tries many ways to gain friends, being strong, earnest, sharing, and even being a little braggy, but he fails. Puffin is very sad and angry about this! What happens next... Does he try again? Does Puffin make new friends at school?

Graphic novel style
Simple text
Adorable illustrations
Beautiful story with a good message
Perfect for ages 6+

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ARC Copy...Thought it was cute and funny and agree with the blurb...fans of Owl might like this. Found it cute and relatable for school kids, that yes is scary and..."I'm busy!"

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This was an adorable adventure of a puffin's first day at a new school - he's ready for a chill school year. Things start out a little icy when he's assigned Penguin as a guide. Penguin isn't really trying to freeze Puffin out, he's just super busy doing all the things a popular penguin does. When there's a hiccup with the lights at a play, Puffin saves the day with his unique abilities.

What I loved most:
I learned a new fact about puffins
The ending is adorable

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Pitched really young, this comic book has Puffin the puffin go to a new school when his family relocate to New Stork City. He thinks he knows the drill – make new friends straight away – and he thinks he knows how easy that will be. But when he comes on too strong, all earnest and a little too braggy, he finds that becoming a friend is not an automatic thing. Let's face it, it's a school for birds, so he should have expected a pecking order… It's an unusual read in that it focuses on the school play as part of the plot – normally a franchise only goes down that route when it's running out of initial ideas, about Book Four or Five – but there's a reason for that choice. And ultimately this makes simple, sensible logic – as does the very decision to check it out. It won't blow anyone's minds, but it'll be engaging fun for some short length of time for some short readers.

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Me: This was a really fun read with my two gremlins 8 and 11. They were laughing at all of the puns and funny things turned into birds. For me it was funny without being toilet humor (I’m not opposed to this but sometimes it’s nice to not hear fart jokes 24/7). I also had a good time with the story so reading it wasn’t a drag, we were able to read it in one sitting and all of our neurodiverse brains stayed engaged.

8 year old: 5 trillion/5 stars. It was great, I love EVERYTHING besides the ice cream part.

11 year old: 5/5 stars. It was pretty good, I liked the entire play scenes.

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When Puffin moves to a new school he is thrilled to have Penguin as his buddy. The only problem is that Penguin is super busy. Puffin "Puffy" has a hard time making friends. Everyone thinks he is a small penguin or that he tries too hard. With patience and hard work Puffin is able to find his own place at the school.

I can see this being popular with the younger crowd in the graphic novel section. The birds are cute, the problems universal, and the storyline grabs attention.

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