Without You
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Overview
Where would I be, What would I do, Without you?
While a mother penguin leaves her mate and newly laid egg to feed in the deep blue sea, the father penguin protects the egg by holding it on his feet until it hatches. In one of nature's rare and heartwarming role reversals, father and chick stay together, braving the Antarctic winter as they wait for the mother's return.
A young penguin and his father receive comfort from each other as they wait for the mother penguin to return from her diving.
Synopsis
Where would I be, What would I do, Without you?
While a mother penguin leaves her mate and newly laid egg to feed in the deep blue sea, the father penguin protects the egg by holding it on his feet until it hatches. In one of nature's rare and heartwarming role reversals, father and chick stay together, braving the Antarctic winter as they wait for the mother's return.
Publishers Weekly
Weeks and Duranceau (previously paired for Follow the Moon) bring readers' attention to one of nature's most dramatic and odd stories. After giving birth, Antarctica's female emperor penguin entrusts the egg to her mate and leaves for a two-month-long underwater feed. Despite the unrelenting darkness and subzero temperatures, the father penguin keeps the egg safe and warm by balancing it on his feet and covering it with his feathery bulk. After a detailed and stirring prose introduction ("Each bird gets his share of protected time in the warmer inner circle as well as on the chilly perimeter, serving as a wind barrier for others"), Weeks launches into sentimental lyrics (also sung on the enclosed CD) in the voice of the egg-turned chick: "I know that she's somewhere out there/ Without us. / But I've got to believe/ She's thinking about us/ .../ Where would I be, / What would I do/ .../ Without you?" If youngsters listen to Weeks's lilting melody-part love song, part lullaby-Duranceau's images take on a cinematic quality. Her artwork, with or without the music, scores in both its artistry and emotional immediacy from the very first spread, which shows the mother penguins diving into the sea as the stars seem to freeze in the sky. Casting icy light over her scenes, the artist plunges readers into the unforgiving, endless winter of the South Pole, while reassuring them that the family will reunite (as they do in a final image). Ages 3-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Weeks and Duranceau (previously paired for Follow the Moon) bring readers' attention to one of nature's most dramatic and odd stories. After giving birth, Antarctica's female emperor penguin entrusts the egg to her mate and leaves for a two-month-long underwater feed. Despite the unrelenting darkness and subzero temperatures, the father penguin keeps the egg safe and warm by balancing it on his feet and covering it with his feathery bulk. After a detailed and stirring prose introduction ("Each bird gets his share of protected time in the warmer inner circle as well as on the chilly perimeter, serving as a wind barrier for others"), Weeks launches into sentimental lyrics (also sung on the enclosed CD) in the voice of the egg-turned chick: "I know that she's somewhere out there/ Without us. / But I've got to believe/ She's thinking about us/ .../ Where would I be, / What would I do/ .../ Without you?" If youngsters listen to Weeks's lilting melody-part love song, part lullaby-Duranceau's images take on a cinematic quality. Her artwork, with or without the music, scores in both its artistry and emotional immediacy from the very first spread, which shows the mother penguins diving into the sea as the stars seem to freeze in the sky. Casting icy light over her scenes, the artist plunges readers into the unforgiving, endless winter of the South Pole, while reassuring them that the family will reunite (as they do in a final image). Ages 3-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
In an amazing role-reversal, the father Emperor penguin faithfully takes care of the egg for two months in the freezing Antarctic winter as the mother goes out to sea. All the vigilant fathers take turns in the outer circle to buffer the inner circle against the chilly below zero temperatures. Throughout the "black as pitch days" and blinding sleet, and blizzards, the Emperor penguin fathers faithfully tend to the eggs and youngsters until the mothers return. The mates find each other through voice recognition and the young chicks are tenderly transferred to the feet of the females. "Where would I be, /What would I do, Who in the world would see me through... /Where would I be, /What would I do, /Without you?" The tender lines are repeated throughout the text to capture the bond. Stunning paintings evoke emotion and capture the heart. A lovely CD containing a ballad sung by the author is included. Fathers will surely understand and enjoy sharing this amazing text with their special young one. 2003, Laura Geringer Books/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 3 to 7.—Laura Hummel