Penguin in Peril

K-Gr 2—Faced with empty cupboards, three hungry cats scour their home until they find three gold coins. On the way to the supermarket, they are distracted by a movie marquee advertising The Fishy Feast. The cats quickly hand over their coins and go inside. Hungrier than ever when it's over, the felines draw inspiration from the film and plan "the most brilliant robbery of all time." After stealing into the zoo under cover of darkness and abducting a penguin, they try to explain their plan, only to be undone by their lack of linguistic ability-they don't speak penguin! No matter, they set off on a fishing trip, with the penguin an integral part of the endeavor. Sensing danger, he escapes and manages to elude the kidnappers when they mistake him for a nun and a waiter. A helpful blue bird shows him a secret way back into the zoo and tells the police about the felonious cats. (The clever bird must be trilingual.) Penguin arrives home none the worse for wear and just in time for a fishy feast of his own. The cats are jailed and sentenced to eat "gruel for life." Although the text is sometimes difficult to read on pages with dark gray backgrounds, this quirky tale has clever, foreshadowing illustrations that attentive readers will eat right up. The holes in the storytelling are secondary to the sophisticated vocabulary and curiosity about the outcome of the cats' goofy plan.—Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Endicott, NY