(++++) BIRTHDAY BLUES

Only You Can Be You: A Blue Penguin Tale. By Judy Petersen-Fleming and Suzy Spafford. Illustrations by Suzy Spafford. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press. $17.99.

     Since penguins are black-and-white, it is obvious from the start – that is, from the subtitle – that Only You Can Be You is purely a work of fantasy. Except…well, it sort of is and sort of isn’t. There is a blue penguin, the smallest penguin in the world, which weighs no more than three pounds and lives in Australia. So featuring one in a nature-focused book is not altogether absurd.

     As for featuring one in a book in which penguins of just about all types join together to celebrate a birthday, speaking to each other and wearing clothes and jewelry and traveling via albatross – well, that is purely fantasy, and that is what happens in terms of plot in Only You Can Be You. Yet the book goes a bit beyond traditional anthropomorphic depictions of nonhuman creatures by being so very inclusive (in penguin terms) and by depicting accurately, in its illustrations, the basic appearance of the various types of penguins and the animals with which the book’s penguins interact, from A (albatross) to W (whale).

     Given the book’s provenance as a work from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, the care in animal depiction should not be a surprise, but the melding of accurate portrayals with a charming (if rather thin) plot creates a picture book that manages to entertain very young children (it is aimed at ages 4-8) while also subtly providing them with some educational value. The story, in fact, is not really the point: Periwinkle, the little blue penguin, is invited to the birthday of one of her cousins, and so has to travel to Antarctica for a grand penguin gathering that includes one apiece of multiple penguin types. Periwinkle is the smallest attendee and the only not-black-and-white penguin, and becomes briefly self-conscious until everyone assures her that being different is just fine and that “only you can be you!”

     And that’s it. Well, there is also a brief moment of uncertainty when Periwinkle realizes she forgot to bring Cousin Crystal a birthday gift; but then she takes off the shell necklace that her mother made for her, presents it to Crystal, and all is well. To the extent that there is any sort of conflict or worry within these pages, that is indeed it.

     The “you be you” and “differences are great things” messages are formulaic (which is not a problem for the target age range), but the book’s more-lasting value is likely to be in its scientific information. Although albatrosses do not actually wear flight helmets and goggles or transport penguins atop a swinglike construction attached by a cord around their necks, they are the birds with the longest wingspan in the world – one of several fascinating facts offered on the inside back cover and facing page. Although the cousins’ decision to “huddle together like emperor penguins” seems like just a cute plot element, it is interesting to learn that emperor penguins do huddle together “to keep warm in the cold temperatures of Antarctica,” again as explained at the very back of the book. The way Only You Can Be You brings in and uses various penguin facts is non-intrusive and well-integrated with the story, making the book into more than just a super-simple tale of a penguin birthday party – although, certainly for the youngest children, it will be just fine on its most-superficial level.

     The final pages of the book itself – that is, before the inside back cover and facing page – are the ones with the most-direct educational and admonitory messages, telling kids how to “help your local wildlife and plants” and offering some photographs of real-life penguins of various types. The pictures (one of which, yes, does show blue penguins) take the simple, entertaining story up a notch and may get young children interested in finding out more about penguins from other sources – which would be a lasting benefit of a book that is, on the surface, a typically sweet kids’ story about friendship and self-acceptance.