The Little Penguin's Promise

Percy, a tall and proud penguin with a black back, a white belly and kind amber eyes, lives at the edge of the great ice where the sea whispers to the snow. On a bright, cold morning he spots Pip, a tiny seabird chick, sitting alone on a small ice floe with her soft grey down ruffled by the breeze and her round dark eyes wide with worry. Her family waits across the icy channel, but the deep water, strong wind and slippery ice leave her too frightened to cross by herself.

Percy waddles over and gives her a simple promise: he will stay beside her the whole way. Step by step he leads her across, keeping a calm, steady voice and turning her fear into small moments of laughter, as when she sees her funny reflection in the shiny ice. When a cold gust makes her sit down with a plop and call herself too small, he reminds her that small can be strong and that he will not leave her. This gentle tale by Jane MEADOW explores trust, kindness and trying again, and can be read on Kids Tale Book.