A father rockhopper penguin—accidentally separated from his mate and their egg—uses many kinds of transportation to return home.

“By a frozen sea, where the snow falls fast, / and the whirlwinds rage and storm, / a rockhopper egg, in a stony nest, was lying safe and warm.” As the book opens, readers see a whimsical, gently humorous image that immediately suggests a loving family: a mated pair of rockhoppers—with their signature yellow-tufted heads—nestled against each other. The parents and the prized egg before them all wear colorful, knitted scarves. Active, swirling blues and whites portray their frigid environment. While the penguins sleep, Dad’s ice floe breaks off. He awakens, panicked, in an urban, non-snowy harbor. He must get back to his soon-to-hatch egg in Antarctica! Charmingly funny anthropomorphic animals of various species help him, including a bear who gives him a plush teddy for his “tot.” The rhythmic verses move the simple story along. Page turns cleverly lead to end rhymes that reveal the penguin’s next mode of transportation: “train,” “van,” and “chopper.” One spread’s verses reference 19 methods of transportation—including pogo stick and elephant—all vividly illustrated in bright colors. The climax is Dad’s realization that he can swim for the journey’s final stretch, avoiding orcas and jellyfish. The ending is predictably heartwarming.

A hero’s journey for bedtime or naptime. (Picture book. 3-6)

– Kirkus Reviews, 8/1/24