Puffling Patrol

Review
By School Library Journal

Ted Lewin is a master at depicting light and shadow, and his majestic watercolor paintings effectively display the windswept vistas in cool blues and greens and indoor and nighttime scenes in warmer tones. His concluding sequence of spreads of the pufflings’ successful release is breathtaking. These larger vistas work harmoniously with Betsy Lewin’s more informal, loosely composed pen-and-ink field sketches that fluidly capture the antics of the comical seabirds. Handsomely designed, this inherently engaging story sends an important message about the difference the island children make in helping save just one precious puffling. It covers the same rescue introduced in Bruce McMillan’s appealing Nights of the Pufflings (Houghton, 1995), with more background information on the island, its volcanic activity, and the current plight of the pufflings (there has been a decrease in sand eels, their main source of food). A comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to the Icelandic words round out a handsome package.