Puffin the Architect is a story about a clever Puffin who is an expert at designing the perfect home for her clients. It is talented young Wellingtonian Kimberley Andrew’s first Picture Book.
When the pufflings need a new home Puffin the architect takes them on a tour to see which one might appeal to them. They start at the home of Platypus the baker but his bakery with its large oven and cupboards full of flour salt and yeast is not right for them.
Next is Otter’s Fishing Boat but the fussy little pufflings don’t like the fancy brackets. Oh well, surely they will fall in love with Detective Hound’s intriguing home with clever touches like furniture that folds away revealing hidden spaces and a tunnel system underground that leads to secret places.
But they don’t. Nor do they like the homes she has designed for platypuses, pigs, geese, moose or giraffes. What a headache! She is about to quit.
If only she had listened to what kind of home the pufflings were really after in the first place she would not have been such a predicament. However, it is not too late and there is still a chance that the puffins will finish up in their dream home.
New Zealand children will be unfamiliar with puffins, but they are bound to love these seriously cute little black and white seabirds with large beaks who are just as good at flying as swimming.
Pre-schoolers will love the double page spreads with detailed pictures of the interiors of each client’s home, pointing out all the design features and talking about what makes each one so special for its owner. And seeing how all the different creatures are thoroughly enjoying living in their new homes.
Another small challenge which they will enjoy is to locate the 19 snails which are scattered throughout the book.
Puffin the Architect is fun to read with them but it has further possibilities. On a wintry afternoon you could well hand out paper and felts and pencils and have a brainstorm (Grandparents could join in too). Encourage them to use their wildest imaginations and then draw a house that has never been seen before with lots of original architectural features that would make it their dream home when they grow up. It might just whet their appetite for being a designer or an architect in the future.
Title: Puffin the Architect. Author: Kimberly Andrews. Imprint: Puffin. RRP $19.99
This book is one of the titles in our August Book Club. If you want to win a copy of this book, and share your own (brief) review with other members, enter the competition here.
Reviews by Lyn Potter
Parent and grandparent, Avid traveller, writer & passionate home cook
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