PUFFINS!

A fetching invitation to clamber over the “guano-frosted rocks” of a seabird nesting site off the coast of Maine and look on as two feathered parents nurture their new puffling.

Gianferrari and Wicks put in personal appearances in the final pages of art to explain how researchers helped puffins make a comeback on the island of Eastern Egg Rock and how readers can help. Before that, though, it’s largely a bird’s world as two puffins, animated by subtle hints of smiles and other expressions, do their best to protect their prized egg, then keep their hatchling safe and fed after she emerges from the shell with an urgent message: “It’s time to eat!” Puffin parenting turns out to be hard work, not to mention dangerous: “Sharing the city with gulls is tricky” when the marauders can swoop down at any time to snatch away a mouthful of harvested fish or even an errant chick. In time, though, Little Puffin fledges, then dives into the sea where she will fly underwater to feed, join a “floating city” of other puffins, and years later return to the nesting site, find a mate—and pose proudly with downy offspring of her own in a final scene. Gianferrari’s playful prose pairs beautifully with Wicks’ dramatic artwork, which alternates graphic novel–esque panels with full-page spreads for an immersive journey into an enticing avian world.

A buoyant view of a natural cycle, loaded with visual and verbal appeal.