Author(s): Lloyd Spencer Davis

Children Fiction

Book of the Year and Winner of the Non-Fiction section, 2002 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. Penguins have a curious magnetism that compels us to love them. Is this because they seem like us? They walk like us. They dress in tuxedos like us. And perhaps, because of this we think they should act like us. We've created a human image of penguins; cute clones that marry for life and live happily ever after as devoted parents, rearing their families in a world of snow and ice. Lloyd Spencer Davis sets out to dispel the fairytale view of penguins, replacing it with startling revelations about their lifestyles, seduction techniques and survival secrets. These are not colourless little polar people; these are raunchy birds that want to be fish! The author's clear-eyed, direct style has a zest and wit that conveys the complexity of the natural world; the world where these birds lead such astonishing lives. His enthusiasm, his sense of wonder and beauty are delightfully infectious, his dynamic advocacy of the conservationist's cause wholly persuasive.