UP & DOWN

Little Penguin sets out on a preposition-rich swim to visit a friend on a distant iceberg.

Opposites on different sides of glued-in flaps keep the action going. First jumping “high into the air…” Little Penguin then dives “low beneath the waves” to glide past seaweed, through a tunnel, “in front of playful dolphins… / then behind solemn sharks.” Teckentrup mixes in occasional contrasting pairs of adjectives—“Feeling lonely made [Little Penguin’s waiting friend] sad, but… / seeing Little Penguin made her happy!”—and other parts of speech on the way to a culminating “They were together at last!” The digital art is done with a limited palette of dimly lit colors in a flat, posterlike style, with penguins and other sea life rendered to look like monoprints or cut-paper collage. The flaps, which range from palm-sized squares to full-page or larger scenes with cutout peepholes, are placed so that the long curves of waves, fish and icy slopes continue uninterrupted no matter which side is up. The visual rises and falls in Little Penguin’s journey create a simple, soothing flow.

A pleasing, low-key dip into the ocean of language as well as water.