Up and Down / Oliver Jeffers

Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2010: Oliver Jeffers has created an enchanting story of two friends, a boy and a penguin, whom we first met in Lost & Found. In Up & Down, the penguin dreams of flying--he has wings, after all--but nothing seems to be working until he spots an advertisement looking for a living cannonball. The penguin’s excitement overtakes him and he sets off to fulfill his dream without telling the boy, only to realize later how much he misses his friend. Fortunately, the boy and the penguin are soon reunited, because it’s all well and good to fly through the air alone, but the best part is having a friend to catch you on the way back down. Wonderfully expressive illustrations complement this story of independence and friendship.--Seira Wilson