Book was decent. One of my kids liked it (3 year old) and the other did not (5 year old). I found penguin's complaining a bit excessive and didn't like the use of the word "dumb" in the book (I skipped over it while reading).

Good book for discussing perspective and appreciating what you have. Penguin has tons of problems. He lists them throughout the entire book. Some are really funny like when he complains that they all look alike and he can't even tell his Mom and Dad from everybody else. After A LOT of complaining, Walrus speaks to Penguin and gives him some sage advice. Well, that, of course, does not make Penguin happy. After a couple of pages, he relents and says maybe Walrus was right. Then, he's back to his complaining.

older/riser audience

I loved the simple illustrations more than I liked the message in this book.

While from an adult's standpoint this could be humorous, and to a child's understanding it can be pretty funny as well, but from an objective standpoint, what comes across louder than anything else is the constant complaining. Sure, a full page of positivity from a pontificating walrus shows you to look at the good side of things, but at the end the penguin goes right back to being negative. I'm trying to get my kids to see the positive, the grateful, the considerate side of things rather than loudly voicing complaints about virtually everything. It's funny when you know he's being negative and know that you shouldn't complain about anything and everything, but what sticks in impressionable minds are the complaints, not my cautions as a parent at the end to choose to be happy and find things to be happy about. So yeah, I'm not a fan of this particular book for my kids.

My brother read this one aloud to me and I just cried from laughing. Penguin is excellently ill tempered and Walrus gives him quite a speech. Normally I pause to ask questions and point out details in books I read aloud but I think in this book it is best to let penguin's whining and walrus' prose speak for themselves!

My brother read this one aloud to me and I just cried from laughing. Penguin is excellently ill tempered and Walrus gives him quite a speech. Normally I pause to ask questions and point out details in books I read aloud but I think in this book it is best to let penguin's whining and walrus' prose speak for themselves!

Poor Penguin ... nothing is going right in his life. But face it, we all have those days.

Penguin is having a rough day. Nothing is right, and he is all too willing to tell us (the readers) all of his problems. As he is going along, listing how everything is bothering him a walrus kindly interrupts, and points out how the sun is shining, he hasn't been eaten, he has friends and family who love him, and how all the negatives he was focused on can really be positives. I love how the walrus speaks so elegantly. After he finishes the penguin looks around and decides maybe life isn't so bad. Until it starts to snow.

This a great book for practicing voices for different characters. A simply slightly whiny or angry tone for the penguin, and a calm lower walrus voice and your good to go. If your feeling a bit advanced you can use an accent for the walrus. Either way it is a fun book to share with littles.

I found penguin's complaining grating