Emma Cowing discusses the penguin craze sweeping the globe for the Scotsman. She writes, "The hype began in June, when March of the Penguins, an 80-minute documentary following a year in the life of a group of Emperor penguins in Antarctica, made in France and narrated by Morgan Freeman, was released in America."
Then of course, Madagascar hit the screens with its team of hilarious, paranoid, spy-penguins. And, another penguin hit (Happy Feet) comes to the silver screen in 2006 and has a preview that's bringing down the house.
But penguin creep began a bit earlier, I think, in children's books. There's Marcus Pfister's Penguin Pete books and Berkeley Breathed Opus stories, for example. My favorite penguins in children's literature are Carol Diggory Shields' penguin-ambassadors-from-earth in the wonderful picture book Martian Rock (ill. by Scott Nash). If you get a chance, check this one out and see how well the penguins represent the third rock from the sun.
