Puffling Patrol

Gr 2–5—The Lewins are on the road again, this time traveling to the isolated island of Heimaey, just off the coast of Iceland, that is home to about 4300 people and one of the largest puffin populations in the world. They are here to chronicle the annual ritual of the rescue of young puffins that become disoriented during their maiden flight to sea and instead land in town, unable to escape without assistance. The first third of the book offers good background information, but reads like an adult travelogue: "From our airplane window we see the mist-shrouded Westman Islands…." The child-centered drama kicks in when the text turns its focus on eight-year-old twins Dáni and Erna, part of the puffling patrol that rescues the young birds and then releases them. Ted Lewin is a master at depicting light and shadow, and his majestic watercolor paintings effectively display the windswept vistas in cool blues and greens and indoor and nighttime scenes in warmer tones. His concluding sequence of spreads of the pufflings' successful release is breathtaking. These larger vistas work harmoniously with Betsy Lewin's more informal, loosely composed pen-and-ink field sketches that fluidly capture the antics of the comical seabirds. Handsomely designed, this inherently engaging story sends an important message about the difference the island children make in helping save just one precious puffling. It covers the same rescue introduced in Bruce McMillan's appealing Nights of the Pufflings (Houghton, 1995), with more background information on the island, its volcanic activity, and the current plight of the pufflings (there has been a decrease in sand eels, their main source of food). A comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to the Icelandic words round out a handsome package.—Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT