Reviews and Endorsements

School Library Journal-April 2012
PreS-Gr 2–The Penguin Lady is portrayed in vibrantly colored illustrations: she dresses in black and white, decorates with black and white, waddles, and loves these birds. She is delighted to receive a penguin from the Galápagos Islands for her birthday, two Rockhoppers from Argentina, three Chinstraps from Antarctica, four baby African penguins, five Little Blue penguins, six Royal penguins from an island near Antarctica, seven King penguins from the Falkland Islands, eight Adélies from Antarctica, nine Macaroni penguins from Argentina, and ten Emperor penguins from Antarctica. They all roam throughout the house, yard, and pond until the Penguin Lady gives them to the local zoo. This book serves as a simple counting book and an introduction to 10 species. A four-page activity section includes illustrations of the penguins with brief descriptions of physical characteristics; a world map; and a height chart. Acknowledging the far-fetched nature of this whimsical story, the author states that “it isn’t possible for individuals to have penguins as pets” and encourages readers to adopt a species with a donation to a zoo or conservation program.
–Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI

Feathered Quill Book Reviews-January 2012
This marvelously creative book will help young readers learn about different types of penguins around the world when they arrive on Penelope Parker's doorstep.
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Eclectic Homeschool Online-March 2012
The Penguin Lady is a picture book about penguins that just keeps growing as you turn the pages. At first, Penelope the protagonist receives a penguin for her birthday, and then two more, and then three more, and then... Each addition is a different species, and pretty soon penguins are popping out all over Penelope's house and yard. Chaos ensues, but Penelope comes up with a workable solution in the end, leaving everyone happy. Told with humor and even a little alliteration, The Penguin Lady introduces ten different species of penguins and gives a good idea of their varying colors and sizes.
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Book Loons-March 2012
This book is irresistible. Penguins have always been popular. Hollywood has made them even more popular lately with humorous children's features and nature films. Sherry Roger has done a great job with illustrations that are both accurate and funny.
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ePinions-April 2012
The Penguin Lady is a cute picturebook for young readers that teaches about penguins and geography, but also fosters counting skills. It’s a fun story to read that also teaches.  Initially I was concerned about how this encourages collecting a rare species as pets – but the author Carol A. Cole dispelled that concern. They require too much effort, they were loud and messy and she couldn’t keep them. 

Carol A. Cole’s first book, The Penguin Lady, is a delightful story for first grade readers learning to read or young students reading for knowledge. The book concludes with a Creative Minds section that compares and contrasts adaptations of all of the penguins in this book. A map displays the geographic range of penguins – it's not in the northern hemisphere with polar bears. A table compares the sizes of the penguins. Young math students can exercise their new math vocabulary by describing penguins as tall, taller, and tallest or short, shorter, and shortest.

Vocabulary and math skills target first and second grade readers. Third graders can use this as a book that helps them read for knowledge. The facts have been confirmed by specialists in penguin science.  Additional educational activities reading questions and interactive quizzes are available at the Sylvan Dell Publishing website. Books from this publisher tend to be enjoyable and read as fiction but the content supports educational goals and provides a platform from which to launch other lessons.  Books are available as Spanish and English audiobooks as well as eBooks.  If you haven’t explored the teaching resources at Sylvan Dell Publishing consider this an impressive place to start. 
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Kids' Book Review-April 2012
The Penguin Lady is a book about a lady, Penelope Parker, which gets a penguin from her brother on her birthday. When people learn she has a penguin they started calling her the Penguin Lady. At first she thinks the penguin is a sweet gift. But that soon changes as trouble begins. The newspaper even writes an article about her and puts her picture in the newspaper. She thought she had to do something about her penguin situation; I can’t tell you what though, as that would ruin the ending.

This book is a good book for kids aged seven  through nine. Parents could also read this book aloud to younger children at night. Younger children would really like the unusual gift and how the penguin causes trouble in the house. It’s funny! I also enjoyed that the author, Carol A. Cole, includes activities for young readers to learn more about real penguins that live in the world. It shows where they live and how big different species of penguins are. It even has a quiz. For kids who use Accelerated Reader at school, it is possible to take a quiz on this book as well. I did! -Emily, Age 8
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Home School Book Review-March 2012
The Penguin Lady will help children learn more about penguins and the different areas of the world where they live, combining science and geography.  It will also reinforce counting skills.  The back of the book has a “For Creative Minds” section with further information about comparing and contrasting penguin adaptations, a true-false quiz on penguins of the world, and a hands-on activity related to penguin height.  It is a great learning tool that is also fun.  By the way, do you know whether penguins come from the Northern or the Southern hemisphere?
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Pudgy Penguin Perusals-April 2012
Not only is this a cute story, but as with any Sylvan Dell book, it is most educational. I loved the pages at the end! Four pages of illustrated facts about varieties of penguins with a very nice map of different areas where they can be found. There's also a chart of heights for ten different penguins. Everytime I've reveiwed one of their books, I learn a lot.
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Books 4 Learning-March 2012
The illustrations (by Sherry Rogers) are colorful and humorous.  Each two page spread offers an opportunity to count the penguins and discuss their behaviors.   One of the most informative aspects of the book is learning about all the different species of penguins and places they are from—both warm and cold.  Children can find these places on the map, discuss differences in size (another math opportunity), and compare/contrast different species.
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Over a Steaming Cup of Tea-April 2012
Children will learn on multiple levels while reading this book. Simple counting is reinforced, and children will learn the names and origins of a number of penguin species. Children will also be reminded that there can be too much of a good thing! I appreciated how fun and yet simple this story is. I hope that we have a chance to use it in our library programs in the future. This book would also be great for reading one-on-one with a child!
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Papertrails Family Blog-February 2012
This book reminds me of my Grade 1 teacher, because she LOVES penguins! I like to think of her as the real-life Penguin Lady!

This is a great book for kids and adults of any age who love penguins. You should check it out! -Myles, Age 8
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Tiff Talks Books-February 2012
In Cole's children's book, we get practice counting, learn about a multitude of penguins, and that is just from the story; the resources at the end of the book contain so much more!  My personal favorite 'extra' is the map of where the different species can be found, including both the cold and the warm climates.  My children loved seeing the different kinds of penguins in the illustrations, from those common Emperor Penguins to those with more flair (and my daughter's personal favorite), the Royal Penguins.  In fact, the book continues to be requested on a daily basis, and my daughter could not contain her excitement when she was able to share her new favorite story with her preschool class during a special penguin unit!
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Heck of a Bunch-February 2012
Penelope Parker, a likable old lady, acquires several species of penguins in The Penguin LadyThis book, with charming illustrations, helps teach geography and simple math.  At first Penelope Parker only has one penguin, then acquires two, then has three sent to her, and so on until her house has become overrun with penguins.  In addition to the story, there is a "Creative Minds" section that teaches comparisons and differences of penguin adaptations, true or false questions on penguins of the world, and a reference guide for how tall penguins are.