Noodles & Albie On Thin Ice is a fun, penguin adventure tale. It’s January (Summer in Antarctica), a time of the year when it doesn’t get dark for months, and Noodles is playing a marathon game of ice ball with his friends in much warmer-than-usual temperatures.  Finally, exhausted and overheated, he takes a break and heads to his igloo for a much-needed rest. While napping, Noodles’ ice shelf breaks off, and begins to float away.  The only one to notice is his best friend Albie (a fish), who unable to wake him swims along with Noodles’ drifting ice flow. The two friends eventually end up in Australia, where they befriend a colony of Little Blue Penguins who are facing a threat of their own.  Will Noodles & Albie be able to help their new friends, and will they be able to make their way back to Antarctica? 

Children's Book Review Says

In this enjoyable picture book, penguin-loving author Eric Bennett introduces readers to the plight faced by Antarctic wildlife as global warming continues to push summer temperatures higher and higher. 

Temperatures at the South Pole have reached record highs, which means playing baseball is a bit tiring for Noodles the Emperor Penguin. However, while he is resting in his igloo, the rising temperatures cause the ice on which it sits to break away, launching him out to sea! Luckily, his best friend Albie saw what was happening and followed, and soon, the two friends found themselves in a new and exotic place— Australia - a land where penguins are blue and tiny!  The tiny penguins beg Noodles for help—they are threatened every evening by foxes, and a giant penguin-like Noodles is just what they need to scare them away. Helping his new friends makes Noodles an international celebrity, but will he and Albie ever get home to Antarctica? 

Noodles is resourceful and curious, making him a fun character for readers to follow. The adventure format keeps the story exciting. Readers will enjoy learning about different species and habitats as they join Noodles’ travels, and the colorful digital illustrations help them compare the various environments in the story. The longer text passages make this a good choice for more advanced picture book readers, and dialogue and humor will help readers build literacy knowledge. The valuable lessons about the impact of global warming on wildlife make it an educational tool for parents and educators, too. 

Noodles and Albie on Thin Ice combines science and adventure for an engaging, entertaining, and informative story that children who are fascinated by wildlife will enjoy. 

—The Children's Book Review 

Available 11/28