Penguin Day Nic Bishop A FAMILY STORY
A FAMILY STORY Penguin Day
BY Nic Bishop
SCHOLASTIC INC.
Morning has come and baby penguin is hungry. Baby penguin is too little to get breakfast, so mama penguin will go hunting.
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Papa penguin will stay behind to keep an eye on the little one.
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Mama penguin has a big journey ahead of her. She and the other penguins will travel far to get food for their families.
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They will scamper over hills . . .
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. . . and climb down cliffs.
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They will hop across sand . . .
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. . . until finally they reach the sea.
The sea is dangerous and filled with predators like orcas and sea lions. The penguins are nervous.
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There is safety in numbers, so mama and the other penguins all jump in at once!
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They dive underwater and ride the waves,
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hunting for fish and krill.
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Meanwhile, back at home, baby penguin is getting hungrier and hungrier and really wants to eat!
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Baby penguin wanders off to visit some friends.
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But they are too sleepy to play.
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So baby penguin waddles away alone.
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Far away, mama penguin is filling her belly with fish and krill. Soon she’ ll be on her way home to feed her baby.
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The penguins leap from the sea.
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They have a quick rinse . . .
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. . . and start the journey home.
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While walking, baby penguin sees something in the sky. It’s a skua, and she is just as hungry as baby penguin. The skua swoops down on baby penguin.
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But papa penguin saves the day! He frightens off the skua. Now baby penguin is safe.
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Papa penguin and baby penguin head back to the colony . . .
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. . . where mama penguin is waiting with food. Now baby penguin can eat.
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Papa penguin is happy to see mama penguin, too.
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It has been a long day, and baby penguin is tired.
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Sleep tight, baby penguin.
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Author’s Note
The penguins in this book are called southern rockhopper penguins. They live in the cold, southern oceans that surround Antarctica.
In spring, the penguins breed on remote, rocky islands. They nest on the ground in large, noisy colonies that can have thousands of birds. The parents take turns looking after the eggs. But when the chicks hatch, the male stays behind to guard the young while the female goes to sea to catch krill, fish, and squid. Southern rockhoppers are one of the smallest types of penguins. They only stand about twenty inches tall, but they are tough. As the female dives for food, she has to dodge predators such as orcas, sharks, and sea lions. She also has to swim through some of the stormiest seas on earth. When she returns to her colony, she often has to climb steep cliffs rising more than a hundred feet from the sea.
A southern rockhopper penguin
Penguins battling huge waves
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As they climb, the penguins may stop for a wash in freshwater streams or waterfalls. They like to clean the salt and mud from their feathers. When a female finally reaches her family there is lots of excited calling as everyone recognizes each other. Then the mother regurgitates the food she swallowed at sea into the mouth of her hungry chick. Life can be dangerous for the chicks. They have to deal with predators, too, especially skuas. Skuas need to find food for their own young, and they are quick to grab any penguin egg or young chick left unguarded by a parent.
Penguin stopping for a wash
A skua chick
As a penguin chick gets older, it becomes more curious about its surroundings. But it can get into trouble if it strays from its parents. By the time it is three or four weeks old, the chick will join a group of other chicks, called a crèche. Being in a crèche helps keep the chick safe from predators, so both its parents can go to sea to catch food. The parents continue to feed the chick, and by the time it is about ten weeks old it will lose its soft, downy coat for a sleek covering of waterproof feathers. Soon it is ready to head out to sea.
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A Note About the Photographs
The author spent three weeks photographing rockhopper penguins for this book. Severe gales and freezing temperatures often made things difficult for him but never daunted the penguins. Every day they ventured into stormy seas and climbed home over tall cliffs, meeting each challenge with feisty determination. More than one chick and its parents were photographed to make this book. To learn more about the photographs, visit www.nicbishop.com.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
ISBN 978-0-545-20637-2
Copyright © 2017 by Nic Bishop. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920 . SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Made in North Point, Hong Kong. 137
The text type was set in Abadi MT Condensed Regular. Book design by Marijka Kostiw
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Spend a day with THE PENGUINS!
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