JOIN ME FOR WORLD READ ALOUD DAY!

 

Hello, Readers! I'm reading my book Waiting for Ice (Charlesbridge).  This is also to help you celebrate International Polar Bear Day on February 27th. Now, get comfy and listen. 💝

International Polar Bear Day on February 27, 2023 

is a good time to stop and think about how global climate change is challenging these bears. They are the top of their food chain, big, strong and able to survive almost anything except not having enough ice.

CELEBRATE PENGUIN AWARENESS DAY!

 

THE GREAT PENGUIN RESCUE
(Millbrook/Lerner, 2017) is about African penguins. 

This is one of 4 books I've written about penguins. Here are the other three.

A MOTHER'S JOURNEY (Charlesbridge, 2005) is about Emperor penguins.

PENGUINS: GROWING UP WILD (Available on Amazon Kindle) with my photos from camping out with Adelie penguins.

AND COMING SOON! 

COULD YOU EVER WADDLE WITH PENGUINS!?

I love penguins because I had the wonderful opportunity twice to live with 60,000+ Adelies in Antarctica during the summer while they raised their chicks. I also watched Emperors from an icebreaker while they were riding on icebergs (off duty from wintertime egg hatching). And I  saw two more kinds of penguins when I lived in New Zealand: Fairy Blue penguins and Yellow-eyed penguins. 

There I am recording Adelie penguins in action in Antarctica. 

HOW PENGUINS STAY DRY

First, use the link to download a printable picture of an African penguin. You will need two pictures for this activity.  

The picture tells how to correctly color an African penguin with one exception. 

Check out the photo of an African penguin on the cover of THE GREAT PENGUIN RESCUE. African penguins always have that pinkish area by their eyes. Be sure to color the white areas of the penguin too.

Next, you will need a glass of water and aneyedropper. Drip 5 drops of water on the uncolored African penguin. Then drip 5 drops on the colored African penguin. What difference do you see?

The water soaks into the uncolored penguin and beads up on the colored on. African penguins, like all penguins, have a special gland that lets them spread an oily coat over their feathers. Like the crayon wax, that lets their feathers shed water. 

Penguin feathers are incredibly small. I know because I've held some in my hand. But the tiny feathers tuck tightly over each other, like roof shingles, to form a thick, watertight coat. In fact, penguins have more feathers than most birds--as many as 100 feather per square inch.

What looks pink above the penguin’s eyes is a specialbody part that keeps it from overheating. As the penguin’s body warmsup, blood flow increases to that area. The lack of feathers over that area lets heat radiate away as the blood flows through it. That cools the penguin.

PENGUINS ARE AMAZING! 

Celebrate PENGUIN AWARENESS DAY on January 20th!