Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World

by H. A. Rey

Overview

Whiteblack the Penguin is worried. He has run out of stories for his radio show, a dire situation for the Chief Storyteller of Penguinland. So Whiteblack decides to travel in search of new tales to share. The result is a journey that spans the globe and not only introduces the precocious penguin to a host of colorful characters but teaches him about the power of friendship and what it means to be a hero. Originally created in 1937, while the Reys lived in Paris, this delightful story is being published for the first time, and is sure to enchant readers young and old. From the creators of Curious George, Whiteblack the Penguin Sees The World is a timeless tale with all the hilarity and childlike sense of adventure characteristic of the Reys' previous work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547346373
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/25/2004
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD640L (what's this?)
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Curious George has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS.

Place of Birth:

Hamburg, Germany; Margret in 1906, and H.A. in 1898

Place of Death:

Cambridge, Massachusetts; Margret died in 1996, H.A. in 1977

Website:

http://www.curiousgeorge.com

Read an Excerpt

A New York Times Bestseller

Editorial Reviews

After reading Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World, you'll want to adopt this penguin's positive attitude. As Chief Storyteller of Penguinland, Whiteblack should have many stories to tell -- but he's run out of them. Concluding that traveling the world will give him more stories, Whiteblack takes off in his handmade canoe. But like many well-planned trips, things go wrong. Crashing his boat into an iceberg would anger and frustrate any penguin (and probably any human!), but Whiteblack just sees it as more material for his stories. The trip is more than just a bunch of mishaps. He gets to ride a camel across the desert and at the end of the story, he becomes a hero. Slipping off a boat, he drags a net in the ocean, gathering fish for all his friends. They build a monument in his honor in the heart of Penguinland.

This is the first publication of the story since its conception in 1937. Whiteblack the Penguin is one of the characters H. A. Rey created at the same time as Curious George in 1937. It's easy to see the resemblance in the dry sense of humor and unfaltering curiosity and drive for adventure of both characters. Rey paints this book in watercolors with a whimsical edge, much like Rey's famous inquisitive monkey. Fans of Curious George, both children and adults, will adore the story of this waddling companion.

barnesandnoble.com

"The plot is well crafted, and Whiteblack's adventures are appealingly silly, almost slapstick. . . . [A] treasure." —Booklist 11/01/00