A penguin finds out where he belongs in this gentle tale of the love between a boy and his favorite stuffed friend. Pangoo and Danny have been best friends since Danny was a baby. They do everything together, including a weekly visit to the penguins at the Central Park Zoo. But after Danny’s birthday party, Pangoo is left out of the crowd on Danny’s bed, sure that he is no longer loved. So, he decides to go live with the penguins at the zoo. But he doesn’t like the cold, he can’t swim and he has never eaten fish. Where does he belong? In the nick of time, Danny arrives to scoop him up and answer his question. The text’s short sentences are just right for those beginning to read on their own. Ichikawa’s watercolors tenderly paint the wonderful relationship between Danny and Pangoo, as well as the tumultuous feelings of the penguin when he believes he has been replaced. She also manages to convey a sense of the city. A nice addition to the stuffed-animal genre. (Picture book. 4-8)
