Penguin Pandemonium

Jeanne Willis's Penguin Pandemonium is a silly zoo story for 6 year olds about a show-off penguin who has to save his home.

What happens

Rory the rockhopper used to be the star of City Zoo. When he did his back flip with a triple somersault, the crowd cheered so loudly you could hear it by the lions. Now nobody comes at all.

Then he hears the zookeeper say it. If more visitors don't turn up, the zoo will have to shut by the end of the season and all the animals will be sent away.

Rory's best friend Blue is terrified they'll be split up. She's also been told that koalas eat penguins (they don't, but the gossip in this zoo is terrible).

So Rory needs a plan. He just doesn't have one yet! When a strange metal thing appears on a pole over the pool, he's sure it's a gun. It's actually Penguin Cam, and suddenly the whole world could be watching.

There's so much to giggle at. Two brown bears heckle from the paddock above like grumpy uncles. Big Paulie the emperor penguin talks like a film gangster and threatens to feed Rory to his friend Mr Tiger. Bossy Muriel says "Oh my cod!" and calls poor Blue "Bloop".

And at the auditions, who turns up? A goose, painted black and white, pretending to be the world's only flying penguin!

There's something sweet underneath the jokes too. Rory wants an all-boys stunt team because his mates think girls aren't cool. But Blue can snowboard faster and dive deeper than either of them. Watching Rory work out that his best friend matters more than looking cool is lovely.

A small heads-up. Big Paulie is sad because his best friend Chubby was eaten by a leopard seal. It's played for laughs ("May he rest in pieces") but a very tender reader might want a cuddle at that bit. It also uses a few American words, like vacation and cell phone.

If your little one loves animals with BIG personalities and plenty of slapstick, this is a really fun one to read together.

What to read next

When they've finished, the same penguin gang is back in The Rescue, where Rory gets landed with babysitting two very cheeky emperor chicks on a snowy day.