AUGUSTINE

A love of art eases the anxiety of a young penguin moving from the South to the North Pole. Little Augustine (who’s named after painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir) is filled with apprehension over an impending move to the opposite end of the Earth. A handful of (illustrated) thoughts accompanies each leg of the journey. At first, she’s shy at her new school. When she begins to share her artwork with the other animals, though, she’s welcomed as a friend, and they help her put on an art show. Ingenious design enhances the work’s appeal, and provides a terrific teaching opportunity: Each two-page spread features a tic-tac-toe board of nine illustrations on the left, the middle one drawn by Augustine and referencing a famous work of art. There are 14 in all, from Leonardo to Warhol, with van Gogh, Monet, Magritte and others in between. A half-page story illustration with a block of text faces the art on the right. Watt’s illustrations, in acrylic and pencil crayons, far outclass her serviceable prose; still, this is a little treasure. (Picture book. 4-8)