Review: Beautiful and educational early chapter book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 2, 2013
The book has beautiful water color and pencil illustrations,  but the word choice and narrative descriptions are so vivid that this book would be equally as captivating without them.  I have never been to a castle before, but if I ever did, I would open every door and peek in, I felt like I did just that after having finished the book.  Zeppi the penguin and his friend squirrel who he sneaks into the train in a suitcase, go on their first castle vacation. The two little creatures, get into a bit of mischief on the train ride, they behave like two curious young children, but have the advantage of being animals and therefore are given a lot of leeway in the human world. Being that they are little creatures they are also closer to nature  in ways that had the author chosen to make Zeppi a child would not have been possible. Zeppi the penguin uses expressions like “greenie” meaning to “care about ecology,” so yes this book has both brains and beauty.