Then penguin disappears beneath the ice, returning with a little offering for the sulky Flora. As the two swoop over the ice in a graceful dance, the duo seem perfectly in sync. That charming young dancer Flora, whose story began in the Caldecott Honor Book Flora and the Flamingo, returns in this skating adventure, pairing up this time with a penguin. Stunning gradient-filled forms glide across each page in beautiful pastels that are backed by an icy landscape, and it is enough to make you forget that your head is buried inside a book. Molly Schaar Idle, as it is well known by now, is a former animator for DreamWorks Feature Animation Studios and PBS Kids, so it is not surprising that her work here looks like stills from a CGI film. Fold-out flaps lift the printed spectacle to new heights and enhance the storytelling, and why not? for it is the art that truly sings here. Interestingly, there is even a subplot, as dancing fish below the ice are seen, and our skating penguin is distracted from his own dance as he sets off to pursue one. Though the book is wordless, intricate movements performed by the pair, along with subtle body language and telling facial expressions are enough to tell a clear story. Together they cut across a thick ice sheet in a balletic duet that is almost musical. A follow-up to Flora and the Flamingo, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor for 2014, Flora and the Penguin continues the graceful performance tale of ice skater Flora, this time accompanied by an equally skillful penguin.
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