Pickle & Penguin

Rating:
Summary: Triumph of the Dill
Review: 'Pickle & Penguin' is a wonderful new children's picture book, written by Lawrence David and illustrated by Scott Nash. Its story is as old as literature itself-two lonely but kindred souls meet, bond, are separated by cruel fate, search high and low for one another, and ultimately reunite. That one of the souls is embodied here by an indigent penguin, and the other by a fabulously well-to-do, gap-toothed, late night talk show host dill pickle, does not detract from the timelessness of this spectacular tale.

Pickle, host of The Pickle Show, sits alone, depressed, in his lavishly-appointed penthouse apartment. He may be the Toast of the Town, the town in question being New York City, but this toast is both stale and burnt out. He's going through a sour patch. Truth is, he's been hitting the pickle juice a trifle heavy of late. (I could say he has a Brine Jones, but I won't.) Not even global fame and the riches of Rupert Murdoch dissipate his funk.

One day, Pickle zips up his furry-hood parka and takes his show to an ice floe on Antarctica for a remote. A mob of penguins surround him and his crew. Pickle spies a maverick on the fringes, keeping his own counsel. Mike in mitten, he homes in for an interview. Penguin, it transpires, has had a beakful of tundra and pines for a change. "Why not go somewhere else?" asks Pickle. "Somewhere else! I've never been somewhere else before!" cries Penguin. And before you can say "dirty weekend," this odd couple is cruising up the coast of South America, USA bound.

Back on home turf, Pickle takes his new pal on a whirlwind tour of Manhattan, but Penguin, dazzled by the "giant sparkly icicles rising out of the ground"-he's never before seen skyscrapers-waddles off. The two get separated in the crowd.

The bulk of the book consists of the adventures P & P go through in their attempts to find each other. I don't want to spoil it for you, but I will reveal that the Statue of Liberty, a pickle dirigible, and a partially-consumed street-cart pretzel all play key roles in the ensuing action-packed, um, action.

'Pickle & Penguin' is funny, unique, and touching. Mr. David's no-nonsense, effervescently-colorful illustrations could wipe the frown off the face of the grimmest tot. There are an abundance of hilarious details, too abundant to list here, except for Pickle's astonishing resemblance to a certain ex-Hoosier television personality. (Assuming David Letterman is unlikely to read his infant son to sleep with Jay Leno's children's book, 'Pickle & Penguin' would be a dandy substitute.)

The book could have been a little longer. For better or worse, kids' picture books tend to hew to a standard length. The getting-to-know-you scenes are a wee bit telescoped. Consequently, Pickle and Penguin's dogged determination to return to the warm bosom of each other is perhaps not as solidly motivated as it might be. (A similar flaw bedeviled the film version of 'Cold Mountain.' Like you care.) But this is a minor, almost petty cavil. Forget I mentioned it.

Will Pickle attain enduring happiness with Penguin? The reader can only speculate, but if there is any city in the world in which a flightless waterfowl can harmoniously cohabit with a myopic cucumber, New York is it. (Okay, okay, San Francisco, too.)

'Pickle & Penguin' is a roll-out-the-barrel hoot.






Rating:
Summary: fun and sweet story
Review: Pickle and Penguin is the timeless tale of two lonely individuals who happen to meet and become inseparable friends. Odd thing about this tale is that it is a dill pickle and an Antarctic penguin who forge the friendship. If this wasn't enough of a lesson in tolerating diversity, the Pickle is a wealthy talk-show host on TV and the Penguin is just some bored bird who wants a change from all his 'fish and ice'. Making more than a cameo appearance is the Statue of Liberty, who, Pickle says "shines her torch for those lost from all over the world." Through the predictable plot (Penguin gets lost and ends up again at the Statue of Liberty where Pickle finds him, after broadcasting his Missing Penguin on the air) we see that friendship prevails. It's a sweet story with a happy and quirky ending that would be a great read-aloud to grades PK-1 or an engaging read-alone to emerging readers.