March to your Local Library on January 20th for Penguin Awareness Day!
Sunday January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day! What will you do to celebrate everyone’s favourite flightless birds?
Did you know?
- Emperor Penguins, the largest penguins on Earth, can reach as tall as 4 feet in height!
- Gentoo Penguins, the world’s fastest penguins, can swim as fast at 35 kilometers per hour.
- Many penguins mate with the same penguin season after season, and some for life!
- In some species, it is the male penguin who sits on and hatches the egg, rather than the female like most other bird species. (Source: Britannica Library Database)
- Even though penguins can’t fly, they are in fact birds! They have feathers, and lay eggs just like other birds.
- All 17 species of penguins live in the southern hemisphere.
- Penguins aren’t scared of humans because their predators hunt them only while they’re swimming in the ocean! (Source: A Rookery of Penguins by Richard and Louise Spilsbury)
Photo Credit: Jason Auch on a CC License
Would you like to learn more about penguins? Here at the Toronto Public Library we have tons of fantastic books about penguins! Penguin books can be found at Dewey number 598.47 at your local branch. Check out this wonderful selection of non-fiction titles to give you facts like the ones I’ve mentioned above.
Baby Penguin’s First Waddles by Ben Richmond.
It’s a Penguin! by Kerry Dinmont.
Penguin Day: A Family Story by Nic Bishop.
If you’ve got a little one who loves penguins, but would rather hear some cute fun stories about them, this selection of picture books will suit them perfectly.
Something’s Fishy by Jean Gourounas.
Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups by Tadgh Bentley.
If you like this book, Little Penguin has a couple more!
Waddle! Waddle! By James Proimos.
Has your little one outgrown picture books and is venturing into reading on their own? These Early Readers are for those looking for beginner chapter books. Let them try to read them on their own, or read them together and help your child discover new words as they learn about penguins.
Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne.
If you haven’t yet discovered the Magic Tree House series, why not start here? These fiction beginner chapter books are beloved by many children.
Penguins and Antarctica by Mary Pope Osborne.
Many of the Magic Tree House books also have companion non-fiction books like this one.
Penguins by Anne Schreiber.
After you’ve learned so much about penguins you may just want to visit the penguins at the Toronto Zoo! Did you know that with the Toronto Public Library’s Museum + Arts Pass Program, and a valid adult library card, you can receive free passes to museums and other cultural places around Toronto, just like the Zoo? Ask for more details at your local branch today.
Finally, the library has wonderful documentaries on DVD that you can borrow after you’ve read about penguins, seen them in person, and still can’t get enough! Here are some of my favourites.
Penguins Spy in the Huddle (DVD)
I'll leave you with this wonderful earworm. Pinkfong of Baby Shark fame also has a Penguin Dance! Enjoy!
The Penguin Dance by Pinkfong!
6 thoughts on “March to your Local Library on January 20th for Penguin Awareness Day!”
If you’re talking about Penguins please don’t forget the gay penguins!
There’s the delightful And Tango Makes Three kid’s picture book.
At New York City’s Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches.
https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?Ntt=and+tango+makes+three
Great post!
And here’s one more (of the many, many great penguin books out there) that would be great for families celebrating Family Literacy Month with Toronto Public Library this January:
When Grandad was a Penguin by Morag Hood – https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM3505280&R=3505280
I waddled all the way to my local library. .. no Sunday hours. .. went to the larger one nearby .. also no Sunday hours.. walked home feeling like a penguin in the frosty afternoon. ..
I completely agree Mary! This is one of my all time favorite picture books. Thank you so much for linking it for all the penguin lovers who may have not had the pleasure of reading it!
Katherine this one looks absolutely wonderful! I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m placing it on hold right now 🙂
Oh Penguin Lover I am so so sorry you went out in the cold and didn’t find an open branch. I know this can be frustrating on a Sunday with reduced hours. In the future may I suggest checking your local branch’s hours here on our web-site? You can’type in any branch’s name into the search bar and its information, including hours and phone number, will come up. We also have an “hours and locations” brochure available from any library branch which outlines this information for you in a sheet you can keep at home. I hope this helps, and thanks for spreading the penguin love!