A Penguin Pup For Steven Kellogg’s Great Dane

By Shannon Hicks

In Steven Kellogg’s newest book, A Penguin Pup For Pinkerton, the title character takes on fatherhood… of a penguin. Mr Kellogg and his family may have recently moved out of Newtown, but he certainly has not forgotten the family, friends, and fans left behind. The author and illustrator of more than 100 children’s books will continue his commitment to C.H. Booth Library later this month with a special offer to autograph copies of the new book (published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Putnam; fall 2001, $15.99 hardcover).

In a way, female penguins have got it made: They lay their eggs and then the father emperor penguins cradle the eggs on their feet. The emperor will withstand cold and hunger during the incubation period because if the egg slips and touches the Antarctic’s ground, the chick inside will freeze. On the other hand, incubation of the eggs lasts only nine weeks, not nine months.

When Emily, the lead female character of Steven Kellogg’s Pinkerton series, begins to explain the life of penguins, the sweet, goofy Pinkerton begins attending to a football as if he were a penguin and the football his egg.

Unfortunately, Pinkerton fails the test of being a penguin when his hunger is tested. He immediately goes for a cookie when it is offered to him by Billy, a classmate of Emily’s who is also the owner of the football being taken care of by the Great Dane. Pinkerton’s newest escapade takes him into school with Emily, then to a football game, and a dog show, all of which he completely disrupts. How Emily’s grandmother saves the day and Pinkerton becomes a father are all told and illustrated by Mr Kellogg in his usual lively style.

According to Booth Library children’s librarian Alana Meloni, the library has purchased copies of Mr Kellogg’s new book, which it will then take orders for through November 20. While Mr Kellogg will be visiting Newtown over Thanksgiving weekend, he will not be in town or available when the library is open so a program with the former town resident is impossible this season.

When he and his family lived in Newtown, Mr Kellogg would do programs regularly at C.H. Booth Library, filling the meeting room with fans of all ages while he drew sketches of and talked about his favorite characters. Around the holiday season, Mr Kellogg would always make a point of doing one of these programs, concluding each one by signing copies of whichever book of his had just been released.

What the author and illustrator has offered to do instead this year is take a number of books that have been preordered through the library and autograph them for their new owners. The books can then be picked up at the library during the week after Thanksgiving. As has become tradition with Mr Kellogg, most books will probably have his autograph and a sketch; the library’s copy of Penguin Pup for Pinkerton has Mr Kellogg’s autograph and a drawing of the title character.

“We aren’t going to be open when [Steven Kellogg] is coming into town,” Ms Meloni said this week, “and he couldn’t be here when the library is open, so he came up with this idea instead.” The library will also have a number of other Kellogg titles for patrons to choose from. “This makes a nice Christmas gift,” Ms Meloni hinted. Proceeds of any books sold will benefit C.H. Booth Library.

Booklist says Mr Kellogg’s “signature artwork carries the plot, adding humor and details to the deadpan story line.” Mr Kellogg did pencil and ink drawings, with watercolor washes and acrylic paints. The book is bright without being gaudy. Its illustrations are detailed, entertaining, and fun. The School Library Journal has already named the book “a sure winner.”

In addition to at least four previous Pinkerton titles, Mr Kellogg is also the author of Is Your Mama A Llama, The Baby Beebee Bird, The Missing Mitten Mystery, among dozens of others, and a series on American folk heroes that includes Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed among its titles.

Orders must be received by November 20. For additional information including how to reserve a copy of A Penguin Pup For Pinkerton, contact C.H. Booth Library’s children’s department by calling 426-3851.