There are three words written in this book, all of them onomatepoeia describing the sound of melting ice in Antarctica - home of the penguins. The direct translation of the Korean title describes one of these, the sound "Crack!" At the start of the book, the reader is introduced to a large group of penguins huddled together on an iceberg. A penguin chick is standing in the outskirts, fully focused on the fish he is about to eat.
 

Then: Crack!  The little block breaks away from the iceberg, and the chick finds himself separated from his friends and family, all alone in the middle of the vast ocean.

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This does not sound like the start of a feel-good, funny picturebook, but it is! Seou Lee is a master of portraying emotions, making the reader feel the penguin´s fear and sorrow as he sees all his loved ones slip further and further away. He cries in despair, until the tears that fills his eyes are replaced with the look of amazement by the beauty of the world. Riding his block of ice, he sails past gorgeous aurora borealis and wonderful icescapes. He sees the giant Jesus statue in Rio the Janeiro, waves to a Venezian gondolier and enjoys the view of both a pittoresque Greek village and the Sydney opera house. 

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By touring the world with this little penguin, the reader gets to see both all the amazing views and our little friend´s awed expressions. But suddenly his block of ice starts melting and gets smaller and smaller and smaller... Luckily, he reaches the shores of Hawaii before it is all gone. This leads to an ending that is both happy and very funny at the same time, and the book concludes when the penguin makes a triumphant return to his family and friends.

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Seou Lee keeps the heavy topic of global warming light and funny. This is first and foremost an enjoyable book about hope, friendship and all the beauty the world has to offer. The melting block of ice is more an afterthought: we have seen the world in all it´s beauty, now let´s make sure to take care of it. There is no pointed finger or obvious learning points, just subtle hints.

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Seou Lee`s expressive illustrations makes us feel empathy and love for the little penguin from the start of the book. For many children, the anxiety of being separated from your parents will be very relatable. The soft backgrounds of the surroundings work really well with the clear outlines of the characters. 

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This book is also published in English, under the title "Bye, penguin", at Levine Querido in 2020.

 

If you find the penguin familiar, you are right: at Readsilentbooks.com we are very proud and honored to have Seou Lee as the maker of the lovely penguin illustrations for our logo!