Milo is a dubious sibling-to-be in a family of penguin postal workers. Given the choice between keeping the egg warm and delivering the mail, he eagerly chooses the latter-not knowing that his father has mistakenly packed the egg in the red mailbag along with all the other deliveries (readers will easily spot the unmistakable oval bulge as Milo goes on his appointed rounds). The comforts and joys of family life are Gliori's (Tell Me What It's Like to Be Big) m‚tier, and her picaresque tale takes Milo to a panoply of fanciful addresses where infants are cherished, including the treetop hideaway of a moose who's ordered a papoose for her offspring and the hive of a mama bee (in a hilarious painting, Milo presents a mail-order sleeper for the multi-legged baby daughter). At first, Milo is unmoved by these scenes of bliss, and shrugs off inquiries about his own family's upcoming arrival. But when he climbs "a rickety rope ladder to the lonely place in the sky" and delivers thousands of baby stars to an ecstatic Stella Polaris, he realizes what his family needs-just in time to welcome his baby brother. Gliori appreciates the skepticism of her target audience, even if Milo's sudden change of heart seems abrupt. The wide-eyed, tuxedoed hero will enchant youngsters, who will pore over the wealth of clever details. The diminutive hero's determination to deliver his packages may well put readers in mind of a formal-attired Santa junior. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-Young Milo, "the youngest in a long line of Penguin Post penguins," is unsure about the new baby on the way. While his father keeps the egg warm and his mother goes out in search of food, Milo helps out by delivering the mail. At each stop, his customers are awaiting packages containing baby items and ask about the egg. Some of his neighbors are unrealistically out of place, though, as they are found in northern regions, and penguins inhabit only the Southern Hemisphere. (Other customers, such as Cool Cat and Mrs. Tiffle, a bee, are unlikely to live on icebergs.) The plot takes a peculiar turn when Milo climbs a ladder into the sky to deliver baby stars to Stella Polaris, the North Star. She grants him a wish just as he hears a "CRACK" and realizes that the egg has been in his bag all along. In the end, Milo is happy about his new sibling and delighted about the package he receives addressed to a "very special brother" from all of the creatures he has visited. The full-page cartoon illustrations in cool shades of green and blue are filled with humorous touches, but the problematic narrative holds little interest and doesn't have much to offer older siblings-to-be.
Melinda Piehler, North Tonawanda Public Library,
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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