Pierre the Penguin: A True Story

Jean Marzollo

Sleeping Bear Press, 2010 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 32 pages

When Pierre, an African penguin living at the California Academy of Sciences, begins to lose his feathers, the zoo staff is at a loss as to what to do. The lack of feathers causes Pierre to lose warmth, making him afraid to swim in the zoo pool. And the other penguins start to shy away, giving Pierre the "cold" shoulder. Unfortunately, heaters and medications fail to correct the situation. But one rainy day, inspiration strikes a biologist named Pam. While walking her dog in the rain, Pam notes that her pet wears a raincoat. Could a "raincoat," or wet suit, help Pierre? A tiny neoprene wet suit is designed especially for Pierre. But will it work?

Told in rhyme by noted I SPY author Jean Marzollo, this true story of veterinary ingenuity charmingly comes to life.

About the author

Jean Marzollo was born Jean Martin in Manchester, Connecticut on June 25, 1942. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1964, and received a master's degree in teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1965. After graduating, she taught high school English for several years and then became involved in educational publishing. She was the editor of Scholastic's kindergarten magazine Let's Find Out for twenty years. Her first book for parents, Learning Through Play, was published in 1972 and her first children's book, Close Your Eyes, was published in 1978. She wrote over 150 books for children and has illustrated some of her own children's books starting in 2003. Her works include the I Spy series; Soccer Sam; Mama Mama/Papa Papa; Close Your Eyes; Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King; and the Shanna Show books. She died in her sleep of natural causes on April 10, 2018 at the age of 75. Laura Regan, born in Canada and raised in California, studied graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art, but soon found that painting was her true passion. She began illustrating books in 1990 after hearing that school children were captivated by an exhibit of her exotic wildlife paintings, particularly those with creatures from the rainforest. She has illustrated several award-winning books and has used her art to help raise funds for various wildlife organizations. Laura lives near San Francisco with her husband. Together they have six grown children.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Pierre the Penguin: A True Story
• Author: Jean Marzollo
• Illustrated by: Laura Regan
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, 2010
• ISBN: 1585364851, 9781585364855
• Length: 32 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Animal Welfare; Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Birds; Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / General; Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Penguins; Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Zoos; Juvenile Nonfiction / Clothing, Dress & Hair