“The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin” A modern fairy tale that bashfully reinforces the universal values of friendship, trust, courage, and honesty. Come along with the littlest penguin and all his pals as he treks from Antarctica, across continents and oceans to find Wendy, his adopted Human mom, in New York City. "A bedtime story for the Soul" This book is exciting but never frightening. It can be read aloud, as soon as your child tires of their picture books and is ready for the written word. 197 pages, 33 chapters • 21 Illustrations • Hard Cover only Not in paperback • Not available in stores • Available exclusively on Pengey.com • Synopsis • Pengey doesn't have many breaks as a baby; he's the runt of the colony and becomes an orphan soon after he's hatched.  There's little chance for his survival, and he's forced to rely on the lessons his parents taught him. Wandering away in search of food and warmth, a fierce winter storm leaves him stranded on a small chunk of ice adrift at sea. But Pengey is undaunted by his troubles. When he is lonely, or hungry, or angry, or just plain stuck, he always calms down and, “ponders his options.” Pengey is a very smart penguin. After surviving attacks by hungry predators, Pengey makes landfall. Starving and tired, he stumbles upon a shack where some humans are wrapping up their work. Pengey's always inquisitive, polite, and a quick study. He's near death when he meets Wendy. Still, he impresses her with his good manners and ability to learn human words. With a full tummy the two become instant friends. The next day Wendy leaves on an airplane back to New York. She pleads with Pengey to go with her, but he is terrified of the airplane. Alone again, Pengey's is at the beginning of his real adventure: to find his new best friend and adopted Human Mom, Wendy. One mishap leads him to Brazil and to his happy reunion with Wendy. but the next mishap separates him from Wendy again, and lands him in animal jail. With his ability to talk noticed by the jailer, Pengey looks like money in the bank. There are many evildoers who would enslave Pengey to the circus or the cloning laboratory. It's in jail that Pengey meets his most trusted allies, Rufus the Puffin (quiet, smart, and reserved) and Lionel the Macaw (street wise, grew up on the Lower East-Side.) The three unlikely castaways must overcome obstacles that test their friendship at every turn, not the least of which is how to escape from animal jail, but once free of that, they face the real and immediate dangers of the real world. On the side of luck, Lionel is a huge bird, and Pengey finds that he can sit on his back and Lionel can fly him around. They have to clear the rain forests of Brazil and Venezuela, not to mention avoiding constant danger of attacks by wild animals. More dangerous still is the flight across the mighty Caribbean. It's always been prone to terrible sea squalls that Pengey and Rufus can easily survive, but the little islands that dot the sea offer Lionel little comfort, because he cannot swim. Conquering the elements, escaping from predators, and making the dangerous 15,000-mile journey to New York is what bonds Pengey, Lionel, and Rufus together. Spurred on by Pengey's cheerful ways and courageous spirit, they all find their ways back to where they are loved the most. However sweet the sorrows, in the end, they go their separate ways, each rewarded by their friendship. But it is Pengey's reunion with Wendy that is a triumph of the spirit, because without Wendy there would have been no journey at all.   Excerpt Rufus had a bad cat scratch. He got it while trying to scavenge food for he and Pengey. They were starving but now they had another and very immediate problem. Pengey and Lionel Macaw new the ocean was nearby but the dangers of flying at night outweighed the any benefits of relief for Rufus. By morning, a deep infection had set into Rufus's wing. Now the flight might be impossible and the ocean was further away that anyone had thought.

Professional Reviews
The Art of Storytelling at its Very Best
Not since I was a little girl in Paris, reading Collodi's masterpiece, have I fallen so in love with a fairy tale character.
Not since "Pinocchio" have I found a fairy tale so complete, so inspiring and so well developed as "Pengey's Many Adventures."
Pengey, I must admit has stolen my heart. His story is beset with so much trouble: abandonment, attacks by other animals
and evil humans. But Pengey is undaunted by his troubles. He always takes time to, ponder his options, especially when he's confused.
Pengey's always polite and because he is so well mannered he manages quite well in the world of humans.

He has one true goal, to find his way back to that place where he knows he is loved. Back to the woman that saves him from starvation.

It takes friends and Pengey finds a Parrot and a Puffin that become the best friends anyone could ever want.

Still, even as a team, it's a effort to overcome all of the obstacles and hardships, as mother nature seems to be conspiring against Pengey too.

I'll never give away the ending. But I'll never forget it, as I sat in bed with my copy of Pengey, and crying my eyes out with tears of
joy and happiness. This has just got to be the best children's chapter book in 20 years. Go Pengey, Go!

Bookwire Professional Review
The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin
John Burns
San Francisco Story Works, San Francisco, CA, $17.95 USD, hardcover, (197p)
ISBN: 0-9774227-0-4

The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin is a delightful children’s book about a baby emperor penguin born in Antarctica. When his mother and father must leave in search of food, Pengey is forced to rely on his courage, intelligence, and the lessons his parents taught him in order to survive.

Pengey’s adventures begin when a fierce winter storm leaves him stranded all alone on a small chunk of ice adrift at sea. Being just a baby penguin, barely 10 inches tall, Pengey doesn’t know what to do. But when he is lonely, or hungry, or angry, or just plain stuck, Pengey always calms down and “ponders his options.” This is a very useful strategy for staying warm, finding food, and avoiding hungry albatrosses and giant leopard seals.

Hungry and tired, Pengey stumbles upon a shack where a film crew is wrapping up their work. Pengey is always inquisitive, polite, and a fast learner, so when he meets Wendy, he impresses her with his good manners and quick ability to learn human words. The two are instant friends, but the next day Wendy leaves on an airplane to fly back to New York. This is the beginning of Pengey’s real adventure: to find his new best friend, Wendy. Along the way, Pengey makes more friends, but it is Rufus the Puffin and Lionel the Parrot who help him travel to Manhattan to find Wendy. Pengey and his friends must overcome many obstacles on their quest. Young children, especially, will identify with the diminutive penguin’s plight and can learn from Pengey’s approach to figuring out how the world of adult humans works.

The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin is a colorful story with great lessons for children about thinking creatively, discovering what they are capable of, and staying calm in the face of adversity. The book is full of little cliffhangers, making it perfect for reading over several nights at bedtime. Children aged 10 and older will be able to read the book themselves, but children of all ages will enjoy this plucky little penguin and his


Adventure and Survival
After watching March of the Penguins I became fascinated with all things Penguin, especially the lovable baby emperor penguins. John Burns' book is delightful in this regard as it introduces us to a baby penguin who faces the challenge of survival in the Antartica and in places like an airport.

Pengey Penguin is quite the little character and spends some time swimming in the airport aquarium, escaping from a hungry seal and surviving being sold to a mad scientist who lives in an ominous castle on the outskirts of the city.

The mood is almost like a cartoon with Pengey, the other animals and the evil characters being the cartoon and loving humans being real. The book reads like a movie and for that reason it will appeal to adults and children. The only scene that may cause some concern for children under 5 -7 is the one with the mad scientist, but Pengey escapes unharmed.

Pengey displays bravery, survival skills, friendship, strength in adversity, creative thinking, loyalty, tenacity, kindness, love and a desire to meet goals. The book itself has a beautiful durable sapphire blue cloth binding with gold letters. The arrangement of the text allows for the book to be read more easily and the author cleverly weaves in details about real penguins. This book is the first in a trilogy with additional stories set for release in 2007 and 2009. It will be fun to follow the adventures of this adorable penguin. The pictures throughout really give this book a cute personality.

~The Rebecca Review

Reader Reviews for "The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin"

Reviewed by Mr. Ed	3/10/2006
Sounds like a marvelous children's story, John!

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