Penguin Dreams (I Can Sleep Book)

Rating:
Summary: illustrations too abstract, poor story line, for OLDER kids
Review: A nice little dream journey by j.otto Seibold and V.L. Walsh for the very young book-looker. Chongo Chingi is a penguin who dreams of flying, all the way to outer space, then is woken up by the alarm clock. Very few words here, much fewer than most of their books. Also simpler drawings on most pages with a few spreads of the famously inventive j.otto detail. Might not appeal as much to older readers as most j.otto books but still recommended.

Rating:
Summary: nice j.otto journey for very young readers
Review: A nice little dream journey by j.otto Seibold and V.L. Walsh for the very young book-looker. Chongo Chingi is a penguin who dreams of flying, all the way to outer space, then is woken up by the alarm clock. Very few words here, much fewer than most of their books. Also simpler drawings on most pages with a few spreads of the famously inventive j.otto detail. Might not appeal as much to older readers as most j.otto books but still recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Fine Art for kids
Review: I love Seibold. My wife loves him. My little daughter will (she's too young). The thing with Mr. J. Otto Seibold is not that his books are beautiful. They're smart too. In my opinion, there's no other name in children's picture books. Not even Maira Kalman. Seibold is a true artist, using Adobe Illustrator. I only wish he publishes more. For instance, where's the book "Bubblesoup"?
Aha! You can get it online at [his web site], it's just incredible. This one, with music, sound, and action, my little daughter already loves.

Rating:
Summary: Kind of Bizarre.
Review: I picked up PENGUIN DREAMS because penguins are one of my favorite animals and I'm always on the lookout for a good penguin book to share with children I know. The book doesn't have a lot of words and has some really interesting pictures. Basically, there's this penguin called Chongo Chingi (sounds like a monkey name to me) who falls to sleep and has a dream. And what a bizarre dream it is. I'm not sure how much younger children will enjoy this book, but for those around kindergarten age and older it might be a hoot. Actually, even though it's a children's book, adults are probably the people who can most appreciate the book's artistic splendor. Little kids will probably find it boring.

Rating:
Summary: Kind of Bizarre.
Review: I picked up PENGUIN DREAMS because penguins are one of my favorite animals and I'm always on the lookout for a good penguin book to share with children I know. The book doesn't have a lot of words and has some really interesting pictures. Basically, there's this penguin called Chongo Chingi (sounds like a monkey name to me) who falls to sleep and has a dream. And what a bizarre dream it is. I'm not sure how much younger children will enjoy this book, but for those around kindergarten age and older it might be a hoot. Actually, even though it's a children's book, adults are probably the people who can most appreciate the book's artistic splendor. Little kids will probably find it boring.

Rating:
Summary: Geared to the younger set
Review: My 8.5 mo old son finds this book so enticing I can't leave it lying around, he makes excited noises every time I turn a page. He has no to mild interest in most other books. The only negative is that many adult readers stumble over Chongo Chingi's name. I think the odd detail in the illustrations will likely hold the interest of an older toddler or preschooler too, unlike most books suitable for small babies. I like the offbeat style which is a refreshing change from so many pastel or primary colored children's books.

Rating:
Summary: illustrations too abstract, poor story line, for OLDER kids
Review: Please borrow this from your local library before you purchase the book. We are so thankful that we did. We were looking for penguin-themed books for our smart 28 mo. old daughter and thought this looked great. We were stunned. The story line does not track well from page to page, the illustrations are too abstract and cluttered for most children under age 6, and the story itself is not fantasy: it's very odd. We can appreciate busy illustrations, and stories with few words but lots of pictures, but this book is just plain strange. Do borrow it before you buy and decide for yourself.