Review: If You Give the Puffin a Muffin by Timothy Young

IF YOU GIVE THE PUFFIN A MUFFIN

by Timothy Young

Schiffer Publishing

Picture Book

32 pages

Everyone's favorite puffin is back, and guess what--he's still ANGRY! When Puffin is offered a muffin, he realizes that he's the subject of another picture book and the target of a rhyming scheme gone wrong. His emotions take over and chaos ensues as he tries to escape the story line. Luckily, Puffin knows just where to turn for help. See what happens when characters from other picture books come to Puffin's rescue. Timothy Young fans will have fun spotting characters and scenes from his previously published books, as well as references to other children's classics. Will Puffin get lost in the fantasy worlds, or will he find his way out?

MY TIDBITS

This is a sweet and laugh-inducing adventure. Give the puffin a muffin, and the most unexpected thing happens...or not really. The question of whether puffins even eat muffins comes into play and runs along this exact theme the entire way through. This puffin might get a muffin, but just because he gets one doesn't make him happy. And nonsense, ensues from there.

With tongue in cheek humor, this book takes an interesting turn away from the usual story lines. The puffin takes his attitude onto a mission to make it clear that just because a puffin gets a muffin in a book, doesn't mean anything. The illustrations swing right along, giving the right dab and bump of humor to make the entire thing cause giggles along the way. The reader/listener is drawn in and made to think about the problem as well. It makes a funny read-aloud which is sure to hold childrens' attention until the last page.