Pufflings Fly Free!
A Rescue Tale from Iceland
Colleen Paeff author Linda Ólafsdóttir illustrator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Published:18th Jun '26
Should be back in stock very soon
From Sibert Honoree Colleen Paeff comes a quietly powerful picture book about one young girl’s courageous mission to save a baby puffin, or puffling, with the support of her community on the Icelandic Westman Islands, exploring themes of environmental conservation, animals, family traditions, and girls in science.
While most of the world sleeps, Freya and her family embark on a late-night rescue mission like no other. On Iceland’s Westman Islands, families gather at midnight to save lost baby puffins, or pufflings, guiding them safely back to the sea.
Freya has always dreamed of rescuing a puffling on her own, just like her older siblings. But every time she tries, the tiny birds slip through her fingers—beaks nip, claws scratch, and they escape.
When one puffling tumbles into the deep clamshell bucket of an excavator, out of reach from everyone else, Freya is faced with a choice. With her family ready to head home, she must find the courage to climb in and save the little bird—all by herself.
This fictional story is based on the Puffling Patrol, a real rescue that takes place every year on the Westman Islands of Iceland. Both the author and illustrator joined the Puffling Patrol and rescued birds themselves.
An engaging blend of personal narrative and environmental education. -- Kirkus Reviews
An engaging blend of personal narrative and environmental education. -- Kirkus Reviews
Thickly stroked and hatched gouache and colored pencil illustrations embrace a wide palette of icy blues as well as shimmering greens and yellows; scenes consistently capture lightly sketched figures, portrayed with various skin tones, coming to the rescue of their feathered finds. It’s a sprightly portrait of cross-species care. -- Publishers Weekly
Thickly stroked and hatched gouache and colored pencil illustrations embrace a wide palette of icy blues as well as shimmering greens and yellows; scenes consistently capture lightly sketched figures, portrayed with various skin tones, coming to the rescue of their feathered finds. It’s a sprightly portrait of cross-species care. -- Publishers Weekly
Paeff’s narrative, supported by Ólafsdóttir’s warmhearted and intimate illustrations, seamlessly blends one fictional girl’s persistence with community activism and solid science, concluding with suggestions for further inquiry and a partial bibliography. -- The Horn Book
Paeff’s narrative, supported by Ólafsdóttir’s warmhearted and intimate illustrations, seamlessly blends one fictional girl’s persistence with community activism and solid science, concluding with suggestions for further inquiry and a partial bibliography. -- The Horn Book
ISBN: 9781665980227
Dimensions: 229mm x 279mm x 10mm
Weight: 445g
40 pages