Sue Soltis

There’s nothing like a puffin.
Or is there?
“ A newspaper, to be sure, is nothing like a puffin.
A newspaper is shaped like a rectangle and made out of paper.
A newspaper has pages. It’s black and white.
But wait---

A puffin is black and white, too!
What are the chances?

A newspaper is something like a puffin, after all.”

A zany tale of the way we are all unique and all so much alike. Delightful!

You can read this as a silly story about what a puffin is and is not like, but it also subtly teaches about the usefulness and limitations of the way scientists classify things.

When the house next door to Stella goes up for sale and sits empty, she gets an improbable new neighbor: the moon! The moon seems interested only in gardening, and ignores the chaos its absence from the sky causes on Earth. Stella doesn't want to say goodbye to her new neighbor, but eventually tells the moon how much it's needed in the sky (to maintain tides, keep dung beetles in straight lines, etc.), convincing the moon to climb back up.

Puffin’s are marvelous birds. There’s nothing like a puffin. Puffins aren’t like ladders or houses or newspapers…wait! Newspapers have black and white pages and puffins have black and white feathers! Goodness! And that's just the beginning, the similarities continue. A pair of jeans are like a puffin because they have two legs. A shovel is like a puffin because it can dig. Perhaps puffins aren’t as marvelous as we thought. Puffins and penguins are so alike, they’re nearly two of show more a kind…wait! Penguins can’t fly, but puffins can! There really is nothing like a puffin.

The puffin’s black and white feathers and bright orange feet make it a prime candidate for Kolar’s bold style. Color abounds as the small and mischievous puffin makes his way through this book. The text is conversational and full of rhetorical questions, making it a fun read aloud book. Kids who enjoy non-fiction books will probably like the logical nature of this book and the way Soltis shares information about Puffins as the story progresses. I also found myself marveling at how perfectly the font (Caecilia Heavy) compliments the illustrations.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/05/book-121-nothing-like-puffin-by-sue.... show less