Video of the Week--The Emperor's Egg
From SLJ February 2006
Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA -- School Library Journal, 1/23/2006
video or DVD. color. 10 min. with tchr's. guide. Nutmeg Media. 2005. ISBN 0-9761981-5-0. $49.95.
PreS-Gr 3–Martin Jenkins's delightful award-winning book about Emperor penguins (Candlewick, 1999) is read bya female narrator who embues the expressive and informative text with all the energy it deserves, while Jane Chapman's beautiful acrylic illustrations are scanned iconographically. Youngsters will smile at the adorable baby penguin, and giggle as the fathers belly-slide down a hill. The information is well-researched and expressed perfectly for the intended audience. Jenkins's added facts, which appear throughout the book in a different font, are reserved for a "Did You Know?" section at the end of the video where the author's original data is expounded on to provide a brief, yet complete overview of the life cycle of the Emperor penguin. Original background music, as well as some sound effects, enhance the text. This is non-fiction at its best–accessible, fascinating, and entertaining. Both children and adults will be enthralled. This title merits a place in all collections serving children.
