Happy Birthday, Chet!

Dear Chet,

I want to wish you the best 5th birthday a boy could ever have! I wish I could come to your party, but since I can't (I can't fly, you know), I'm having a party here for you. I made a picture of us together on the moon because I am over the moon about you being my friend, and I think you are out of this world! (That means I think you're pretty neat.)

I hope you have a fun day full of surprises!

Love,
Penguin

P.S. Please have an extra bite of cake for me!

From Penguin's Mama:
Thank you, Chet, for being such a big fan of Penguin's! Happy birthday, and big hugs to your Mama!

Penguin's Christmas Eve

Dear Friends,

I am going to visit a special friend today—my good friend, Pinecone, for Christmas Eve. He lives in the forest. It snowed last night, so I hope he is wearing the scarf I knitted him so he can stay cozy. I will decorate him with Christmas lights today!

Oh dear! It looks like I decorated myself with lights instead!

 

 Hello, Pinecone! It's so good to see you again. My,... how you've grown!

 I brought some lights to decorate you with. I hope you like it.

 

 And I brought some presents too!

 This one is extra special.

Merry Christmas, Pinecone.

 I'm glad you like the wreath!

What's that? You'd like to open a present? Okay. Just one!

How about this one?

 It looks perfect on you, Pinecone!

 

I wish you a cozy, happy, and magical Christmas with your family and friends!

Love,
Penguin

A Day on the Slopes

Dear Friends,

Today looked like a nice day to go skiing. I got up early in the morning to make the walk up the mountain. I'm a slow walker, so it was a good thing that I started early.

Did you notice that I am wearing a RED scarf today? I knitted myself a Christmas scarf, for the holidays! And plus, I love the color red. It is the color of my sled and wagon. Do you have a favorite thing that is RED?

 Here I am walking up the snowy mountain.

 Here I am skiing down! WHEEEE!

 OOPS!  Even penguins take a tumble now and again.

 I ended the day with a nice cup of hot cocoa and a cookie.

It was a good day.

Love,
Penguin

P.S. What is your favorite winter activity?

I Love Yarn!

Dear Friends,

I love yarn. In fact, I love it so much that I had a party at a yarn store called UNWIND.  They love yarn too.

 There were yummy treats that looked like me and my orange ball of yarn. 

I got to meet the nice lady that made them! She is a cake pop artist.

 I loved being surrounded by yarn . . .

 

 

 

 

 . . . and ribbons.

If you want to see more photos from the event, you can click here.

Thank you Alyson Beecher!

Love,

Penguin

Fun at Mrs. Nelson's

Dear Friends,

I had a lovely visit at Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Store in LaVerne, CA. They put up a special sign for our visit.

I held up my book so everyone could see. Pinecone kept me company.

Photo by Laura Wynkoop

Mama made paintings of me and Pinecone at the event.

Here we are at our table.

And before we left, I got to sign a super secret door in the back of the store where lots of famous authors and illustrators have come to visit. Can you recognize any of the artists? (I'm at the bottom, with the orange scarf)

I hope you'll be able to come visit us at our next event at UNWIND Yarn Store in Burbank, CA on Dec. 1st, from 11-1.  I'm sure it's going to be a super cozy party!

Love,
Penguin

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends,

In celebration of Thanksgiving, I am dressed up as a Pilgrim. I went out to collect some pumpkins to bake a pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and maybe some pumpkin pudding.

While I was out, I met a friend. He was picking carrots. I said, "How do you do?" He said, "Gobble-gobble." It turns out that turkeys don't talk. Or maybe I just don't understand Turkish.

Turkey gave me a book called, "Five Silly Turkeys" by Salina Yoon, and it's a very fun book to read for Thanksgiving. There are lots of silly turkeys to count in the book. You'll find out what turkeys DON'T eat for Thanksgiving!

Turkey followed me back home for some hot apple cider. He gave me some carrots and I gave him some pumpkins. Who says Pilgrims and Turkeys can't be friends!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,
Penguin

P.S. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish or dessert? Mine is pumpkin pie!

Cocoa and Biscuits

Dear Friends,

How do you like to start your mornings? I like to start mine with a nice cup of hot cocoa.

 

Then, I like to make some fresh biscuits for breakfast.

Before I clean up, I have one more thing to make . . .

. . . a gingerbread man!

YUM! I will eat him up before he tries to run away!

Love,
Penguin

P.S. How do you like to start your mornings?

WILD THING!

Dear Friends,

Can you guess my costume? I'll give you a hint. I make mischief! (well...not in real life.) And sometimes, people call me WILD THING!

I am dressed up as Max who wears a wolf suit from WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, by Maurice Sendak. Thank you to Ms. Mystery Robin for the fun idea! This is one of my favorite books because Max loves adventures and he loves to sail. I like the sea, too.

Here I am making mischief!

photo of Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, published by HarperCollins

BE STILL!

Let the wild rumpus start!

It's fun to make believe. I hope you do it, too. Have a fun and safe Halloween, and let the wild rumpus start! (trick-or-treating, I mean!)

Love,
Penguin

P.S. What is YOUR favorite character from a book?

Penguin, Pinecone and PUMPKIN!

Dear Friends,

Pinecone and I went to the pumpkin farm today. They let me drive the tractor! It was fun.

I love pumpkins.  They come in my favorite color: ORANGE! And I found the perfect one to take home.

I made him a scarf as long as the vine he grew from. Pumpkin is just as cozy as Pinecone.

Love,
Penguin

P.S. Do you like my pumpkin? And how did you decorate YOUR pumpkin?

A Cozy New Home

Dear Friends,

My name is Penguin, and I have a friend named Pinecone. I'm from the ice, and Pinecone is from a forest far, far away. I love to explore new places and meet new friends. This is my cozy new home where I can share my adventures with you. I hope you'll visit me often so I won't be lonely.

Love,
Penguin

P.S. I can't wait for Halloween! What do you think I should dress up as? Any suggestions? And what will YOU dress up as? Please leave me a comment below. And come back on Halloween to see what costume I end up wearing!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Penguin and Pinecone

by Salina Yoon

Giveaway ends November 02, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win