This informative book teaches children about the emperor penguins which inhabit Antarctica, showing the life of one from egg to adult. (The book title is perhaps a bit of a misnomer if one was expecting a book only about baby penguins.) Children will learn about many penguin behaviors, including tobogganing, counter-shading, and fledging. The beautiful, full-color photographs are the perfect accompaniment and catch the eye.

I read this book aloud with children of different ages (3, 5, and 8) and found it worked on different levels. The 3-year-old loved the photographs but didn't quite have the attention span for the full text. So I would read only a sentence or two from each page. However, he liked the book so much that we went through it second time, so I was able to add to his knowledge by reading different sentences this time around. He walked away with the very basic facts (i.e., a baby penguin is called a chick), so I still consider this a success. The older two children each listened with rapt attention to this book, with the 5-year-old being grossed out by the idea of a mother regurgitating her food for a chick and with the 8-year-old occasionally interjecting "hmm" or "I didn't know that!" with some of the more nitty-gritty details. ( )

This is part of a series of nonfiction picture books produced by the American Museum of Natural History.

This is the story of the first part of an Emperor penguin chick's life and does an adequate job of describing their behavior, habitat, how the parents raise them, and the wider world of Antarctica. The whole is illustrated with vibrant photographs.

There are no sources or further reading, but the last page discusses the dangers of global warning and there is a note from Paul Sweet, the museum's Collections Manager in the ornithology department.

The text is in rather large chunks and although it's a large font is not suited to be read aloud because it's so long. However, this is a great text for fluent readers in the early grades who are starting their first research projects. This is something my school district focuses on, so this would be a great text for them to use. Younger children will appreciate the plethora of photographs.

Verdict: Penguins are perennially popular and this is a strong addition to expand your collection in this area.

ISBN: 9781454927013; Published 2018 by Sterling; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Produced in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History, this engaging work of picture-book non-fiction follows an Emperor Penguin chick through her first year of life. Dependent upon her parents for food and warmth, the chick slowly matures, eventually shedding her fuzzy fur, and becoming a self-sufficient adult.

Illustrated with gorgeous color photography, and featuring a simple narrative that is as involving as it is informative, Baby Penguin's First Waddles would make an excellent first introduction to this antarctic species for younger children - perhaps five years and under? I appreciated that there wass a brief message from Paul Sweet, the Collections Manager in the Ornithology department at the AMNH, included at the rear of the book. Recommended to all young animal lovers! ( )