Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin

When young Jonty Gentoo escapes from the zoo, he’s inspired by his penguin aunts’ tales of their home: “And there, where the sun shines all night and all day/ Are thousands of penguins, who slither and stroll/ On the snow and ice all around the South Pole.” After squeezing through a gap in the fence and undertaking a long, lonely, and increasingly chilly journey, Jonty is informed by a friendly polar bear that he’s arrived at the North Pole, where there’s nary a penguin to be found. Jonty is eventually befriended by a migrating arctic tern, who guides him on a sea voyage southward, until Jonty reaches the real South Pole, which fully lives up to his aunts’ promise of penguin paradise. Prior collaborators Donaldson and Scheffler create an impressively doughty protagonist, meanwhile helping readers to compare environments and gain an appreciation for both arctic terns and the plentiful biodiversity between the poles. A brief overview, “Amazing Birds,” concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)